Masaharu Sakamoto, Takato Ueno, Motoaki Kin, Hiromasa Ohira, Takuji Torimura, Sadataka Inuzuka, Michio Sata, Kyuichi Tanikawa – 1 October 1993 – The contractile response of cultured Ito cells to endothelin‐1 and substance P was examined. Ito cells were obtained from rat liver by perfusion with collagenase, followed by separation through centrifugal elutriation, and were cultured for 24 hr. The area of the Ito cells was measured after treatment with endothelin‐1 or substance P at various concentrations in the culture medium.

Kazunori Fukuda, Masamichi Kojiro, Jen‐Fu Chiu – 1 October 1993 – We report here that transforming growth factor‐β1 induces cell death in the Morris hepatoma cell line McA‐RH7777. We assessed the type of cell death induced by transforming growth factor‐β1 in this hepatoma cell line on the basis of morphological and biochemical characteristics. Dying cells, which detached from the cell monolayer, showed morphological characteristics of apoptosis (programmed cell death) such as chromatin condensation, nuclear disintegration and cellular fragmentation into clusters of eosinophilic globules.

P. J. Johnson, Ian G. McFarlane, Convenors, On Behalf of the Panel – 1 October 1993

Ian R. Mackay – 1 October 1993

Frank L. Iber – 1 October 1993

Andrew Mason, Mark Wick, Heather White, Robert Perrillo – 1 October 1993 – Hepatitis B virus–specific nucleic acid sequences and proteins have been detected in extrahepatic tissues of acutely and chronically infected patients. However, apart from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and bone marrow cells, little is known about the specific cell types that permit viral replication. In this study, we assessed the extrahepatic tissues of four patients who died with chronic hepatitis B virus infection and two uninfected controls by means of in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical study.

Gregor Zöhrens, Thomas Armbrust, Ursula Pirzer, Karl‐Hermann Meyer zum Büschenfelde, Giuliano Ramadori – 1 October 1993 – To study the influence of chronic hepatitis on intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 serum concentration, we measured intercellular adhesion molecular‐1 in the serum of 84 patients with chronic liver disease (17 chronic persistent hepatitis, 42 chronic active hepatitis and 25 active cirrhosis) caused by hepatitis B virus (n = 46), hepatitis C virus (n = 10) and autoimmunity (n = 28).

Louise Gariépy, Daphna Fenyves, Ibrahim Kassissia, Jean‐Pierre Villeneuve – 1 October 1993 – We studied the steady‐state hepatic extraction and single‐pass hepatic uptake of propranolol in isolated perfused livers from normal rats and compared these values with those of rats with carbon tetrachloride–induced cirrhosis, rats treated with chlorpromazine (an inhibitor of propranolol metabolism) and rats with acute liver injury.

Fumio Nomura, Masatoshi Noda – 1 October 1993 – ADP ribosylation is considered one of the important covalent modifications of cellular proteins catalyzed by ADP ribosyltransferase, which transfers ADP ribose moiety of NAD to an acceptor protein. Because a growing body of evidence has suggested significant biological roles for mono‐ADP ribosylations in transmembrane signal transduction and other cell metabolism, how alcohol intake alters them is of interest.

Karin Vanderkerken, Luc Bouwens, Wilfried de Neve, Kit van den Berg, Marijke Baekeland, Nadia Delens, Eddie Wisse – 1 October 1993 – Liver sinusoids contain a population of large granular lymphocytes or natural killer cells, originally termed pit cells. After isolation and purification, these cells were separated into a low‐density and a high‐density fraction. The liver low‐density fraction differs significantly in morphology and function from cells of the blood, whereas the liver high‐density fraction shows intermediate properties.