Raymond N. Dubois – 1 March 1994 – The present study was conducted to examine the effect of activin A on growth of rat hepatocytes. EGF induced a 10‐fold increase in DNA synthesis as assessed by [3H]thymidine incorporation in cultured hepatocytes. When activin A was added together with EGF, DNA synthesis induced by EGF was markedly inhibited. Inhibition was detected at a concentration of 10−10 M, and 5×10−9 M activin A almost completely blocked EGF‐mediated DNA synthesis. Similarly, activin A completely blocked DNA synthesis induced by hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor.

Raymond T. Chung – 1 March 1994 – Interferons (IFNs) induce antiviral activity in many cell types. The ability of IFN‐γ to inhibit replication of ectromelia, vaccinia, and herpes simplex‐1 viruses in mouse macrophages correlated with the cells' production of nitric oxide (NO). Viral replication was restored in IFN‐γ–treated macrophages exposed to inhibitors of NO synthase. Conversely, epithelial cells with no detectable NO synthesis restricted viral replication when transfected with a complementary DNA encoding inducible NO synthase or treated with organic compounds that generate NO.

Lawrence S. Friedman – 1 March 1994

Ching‐Yih Lin, Pin‐Wen Lin, Hong‐Ming Tsai, Xi‐Zhang Lin, Ting‐Tsung Chang, Jeng‐Shiann Shin – 1 March 1994 – To determine the diagnostic accuracy of computer tomography in the detection of venous collaterals surrounding the esophagus in patients with portal hypertension, preoperative computer tomography interpretations of these veins in 15 patients who were candidates for the Sugiura procedure for treatment of esophageal varices were correlated with those of the intraoperative assessment.

Massimo Pinzani, Stefano Milani, Cecilia Grappone, Frederick L. Weber, Paolo Gentilini, Hanna E. Abboud – 1 March 1994 – Platelet‐derived growth factor has been shown to play an important role in the repair process after acute tissue injury and in the pathogenesis of several fibrogenic disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether increased expression of platelet‐derived growth factor and its β‐receptor subunit occurs in a model of acute liver injury.

Tse‐Ling Fong, Gary C. Kanel, Andrew Conrad, Boontar Valinluck, Francine Charboneau, Rodney H. Adkins – 1 March 1994 – The significance of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in patients with chronic alcoholic liver disease is unclear. Prior studies have utilized the first‐generation enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, which is limited by problems with sensitivity and specificity.

Joan C. García‐Pagán, Faust Feu, Antoni Castells, Angelo Luca, Ramón C. Hermida, Francisca Rivera, Jaume Bosch, Joan Rodés – 1 March 1994 – This study was aimed at investigating whether portal pressure, which is usually measured in the morning, is subject to circadian variations in patients with cirrhosis. Furthermore, a possible circadian variation for the occurrence of variceal bleeding was also investigated.

Massimo Bolognesi, Carlo Merkel, Simone Bianco, Paolo Angeli, David Sacerdoti, Piero Amodio, Angelo Gatta – 1 March 1994 – The reticuloendothelial system plays an important role in the prevention of bacterial infection in patients with cirrhosis. Few data are available, however, on its activity in such patients.

Sanjeev Gupta, Chang‐Don Lee, Ravikumar P. Vemuru, Kuldeep K. Bhargava – 1 March 1994 – Hepatocyte transplantation is useful for ex vivo gene therapy and liver repopulation. Methods for hepatic reconstitution have recently been developed but optimization of hepatocyte transplantation systems is necessary. To develop systems for noninvasive assessment of the biodistribution of transplanted cells, we labeled hepatocytes with 111indium‐oxine. Our initial studies showed that hepatocytes incorporated 111indium‐oxine with an efficiency of approximately 20%.

Rein M. J. Hoedemakers, Gerrit L. Scherphof, Toos Daemen – 1 March 1994 – We examined the effects of several hemopoietic growth factors on proliferation of rat liver macrophages in vitro. The proliferative response of liver macrophages to hemopoietic growth factors was assayed on the basis of [methyl‐3H]thymidine uptake. Macrophage colony‐stimulating factor and recombinant murine granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor stimulated [methyl‐3H]thymidine incorporation in a concentration‐dependent manner.