J. Carlos Teran, Kevin D. Mullen, Jay H. Hoofnagle, Arthur J. McCullough – 1 April 1994 – Interferon‐α induces remission in 30% to 40% of patients with chronic hepatitis B, but its effect on hepatic connective tissue turnover has not been well documented. We studied the changes in serum procollagen III propeptide and laminin‐P1 peptide (Lam‐P1) in 33 patients with chronic hepatitis B (11 nontreated controls and 22 treated patients) during a 4‐mo randomized trial of interferon‐α. Liver biopsy specimens were obtained at the start of treatment and 12 mo later.

Makoto Yoshiba, Kazuhiko Dehara, Kazuaki Inoue, Hiroaki Okamoto, Makoto Mayumi – 1 April 1994 – To assess the contribution of hepatitis C virus to non‐A, non‐B fulminant hepatitis in Japan, we compared 10 major clinical features among 7 patients with type B fulminant hepatitis (type B group), 13 patients with non‐A, non‐B fulminant hepatitis with evidence of hepatitis C virus infection (type C group) and 10 patients without evidence of hepatitis C virus infection (NANB group).

Kazuhiko Koike, Kyoji Moriya, Shiro Iino, Hiroshi Yotsuyanagi, Yasuo Endo, Tatsuo Miyamura, Kiyoshi Kurokawa – 1 April 1994 – We studied the development of liver tumors in male HBx gene transgenic mice.

R. Paul Aftring, Mason W. Freeman – 1 April 1994 – We employed homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells to produce mice lacking functional LDL receptor genes. Homozygous male and female mice lacking LDL receptors (LDLR−/− mice) were viable and fertile. Total plasma cholesterol levels were twofold higher than those of wild‐type littermates, owing to a seven‐ to ninefold increase in intermediate density lipoproteins (IDL) and LDL without a significant change in HDL. Plasma triglyceride levels were normal.

Alan J. Young, Gregory M. T. Hare, John B. Hay – 1 March 1994 – The process of lymphocyte migration is required for the systemic dissemination of immunological memory and immune surveillance. We report here experiments to quantitate the normal traffic of lymphocytes that occurs from blood to lymph through the liver and hepatic node in the sheep. Comparisons were made with known lymphocyte homing pools.

Alexander S. Petrides, Christoph Vogt, Dirk Schulze‐Berge, Dwight Matthews, Georg Strohmeyer – 1 March 1994 – Glucose intolerance and diabetes mellitus are both prevalent in cirrhosis, yet the pathogenesis of impaired glucose metabolism remains unknown.

Derek G. Doherty, Peter T. Donaldson, James A. Underhill, J. Mark Farrant, Ann Duthie, Giorgina Mieli‐Vergani, Ian G. McFarlane, Philip J. Johnson, Adrian L. W. F. Eddleston, Alex P. Mowat, Roger Williams – 1 March 1994 – Susceptibility to autoimmune hepatitis in white patients is associated with the human leukocyte antigen class II antigens DR3 and DR4. To analyze the molecular basis of these associations, we used oligonucleotide probes to determine the DRB, DQA and DQB hypervariable nucleotide sequences in 119 patients with autoimmune hepatitis and 177 matched controls.

Ken Zaret – 1 March 1994 – The proto‐oncogene c‐jun is the cellular homologue of v‐jun, the transforming oncogene of the avian sarcoma virus 17. c‐jun encodes one major component of the AP‐1 transcription factor complex and is expressed in many organs during mouse development and in the adult. Because of its rapid induction in cells following growth stimulation and the presence of AP‐1 binding sites in the promoter regions of many genes, the c‐Jun protein is thought to have important functions in cell proliferation and differentiation.

1 March 1994 – Sera from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) react with enzymes of the 2‐oxo dehydrogenase pathways, particularly PDC‐E2. These enzymes are present in all nucleated cells, yet autoimmune damage is confined to biliary epithelial cells. Using a panel of eight mouse monoclonal antibodies and a human combinatorial antibody specific for PDC‐E2, we examined by indirect immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy sections of liver from patients with PBC, progressive sclerosing cholangitis, and hepatocarcinoma.

Rudolf W. Ammann, Nicolas Ilitsch, Borut Marincek, Andreas U. Freiburghaus – 1 March 1994 – The efficacy of long‐term chemotherapy in nonresectable alveolar echinococcosis is debated, particularly because of the difficulty in defining therapeutic success. In this study the effect of chemotherapy on the parasitic mass was evaluated in a series of 37 patients. The patients had larval lesions documented by serial computed tomography studies at least 1.5 yr after chemotherapy (mean = 6.4 yr, range = 1.5 to 10.7 yr).