Olle Reichard, Ulla Foberg, Aril Frydén, Lars Mattsson, Gunnar Norkrans, Anders Sönnerborg, Rune Wejstål, Zhi‐Bing Yun, Ola Weiland – 1 February 1994 – To evaluate the effect of prolonged interferon‐α treatment on serum aminotransferase levels and hepatitis C virus RNA in serum, 40 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection were treated with 3 MU interferon‐α2b thrice weekly for 60 wk. Before treatment all patients had elevated serum ALT levels for at least 1 yr, antibodies to HCV by second‐generation tests and liver histological findings consistent with chronic hepatitis C.

Anna Mae Diehl, Shi Qi Yang – 1 February 1994 – CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins are a family of basic zipper DNA binding proteins that regulate transcription of several liver‐specific genes and certain growth‐related genes. Growth‐related variations in the nuclear expression of one or more of the CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins may regulate the transition from the nonproliferative, differentiated phenotype of adult liver to the proliferative phenotype of regenerating liver.

Nimish Vakil, Anil Sharma, Yoram Yagil – 1 February 1994 – In an earlier study we showed that bile duct–ligated rats were highly susceptible to gentamicin nephrotoxicity and that oral calcium administration had a pronounced protective effect. The mechanism by which this occurs is unclear. Because cations compete with gentamicin for tubule binding sites, it has been suggested that the increased susceptibility of the kidney to gentamicin after bile duct ligation might result from decreased cation excretion.

Raymond S. Koff – 1 February 1994

Herbert L. Kayne – 1 February 1994

Hari S. Conjeevaram, Kevin D. Mullen, Elizabeth J. May, Arthur J. McCullough – 1 February 1994 – Alterations in behavior are frequently described in rats subjected to portacaval shunt. Previous work has reported reduced spontaneous motor activity in various settings (nighttime, red light, decreased illumination) in this animal model.

Giorgio Ballardini, Paolo Groff, Lucilla Badiali de Giorgi, Detlef Schuppan, Francesco B. Bianchi – 1 February 1994 – The presence of desmin is used to identify Ito cells in rat liver and to evaluate the purity of separated and cultured Ito cells. Heterogeneity of the normal Ito cell population has been suggested; this could include variations in the content of cytoskeletal components. For these reasons we decided to reevaluate the use of desmin staining as a phenotypical marker of Ito cells in normal rat liver.

1 February 1994

Mikihiro Tsutsumi, Sachio Urashima, Akira Takada, Takayasu Date, Yujiro Tanaka – 1 February 1994 – Hepatitis C virus is a positive single‐strand RNA virus distantly related to flaviviruses. Therefore RNA replicase, an RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase, may be essential for the replication of hepatitis C virus, as well as other RNA viruses. In this study we synthesized the recombinant polypeptide (HCV‐NS5 antigen) with a 576 bp cDNA encoding a part of the NS5 region of the HCV genome that has the Gly‐Asp‐Asp motif. The antibody against this polypeptide was obtained from rabbit serum.

Florence Wong, Peter Liu, Sheldon Tobe, Gilles Morali, Laurence Blendis – 1 February 1994 – In patients with cirrhosis a diminished effective central arterial blood volume associated with systemic arterial vasodilatation has been proposed as the mechanism that initiates renal sodium retention. Furthermore, total central blood volume has recently been reported as reduced in cirrhosis, and the controversy over the stimulus for sodium retention in cirrhosis remains.