Robert L. Hamilton, Richard J. Havel – 1 August 1993 – In the study reported by Wetterau et al., a recently characterized heterodimeric protein called microsomal triglyceride transfer protein was undetectable on immunoblotting of samples from intestinal biopsies of human subjects with the genetic disorder abetalipoproteinemia. With only one fourth to one fifth the soluble proteins of homogenized intestinal biopsy specimens of normal human subjects and patients with different fat‐absorption defects, the 88‐kD subunit of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein was clearly detectable.

1 August 1993

Mercedes Ruiz‐Moreno, Rosa García, Maria Jose Rua, Beatriz Serrano, Gloria Moraleda, Esperanza Feijoo, Javier Bartolomé, Fernando Ortiz, Inmaculada Castill, Vicente Carreñ – 1 August 1993 – To evaluate the possible usefulness of simultaneous administration of levamisole and interferon, we randomly allocated 38 children with chronic hepatitis B to receive either 10 MU/m2 interferon‐α‐2a, three times a week for 6 mo (group 1, n = 20) or 90 mg/m2 of levamisole for 45 days, together with 10 MU/m2 of interferon‐α‐2a, three times a week for 6 mo (group 2, n = 18).

Ulrika Broomé, Annika Scheynius, Rolf Hultcrantz – 1 August 1993 – In both primary sclerosing cholangitis and primary biliary cirrhosis it is supposed that immunological mechanisms are involved in the progressive destruction of the bile ducts. The aberrant expression of human leukocyte antigen‐DR in the bile ducts of patients with these disorders enables the biliary epithelium to present putative antigens to the surrounding lymphocytes; however, no such antigen has been identified. Heat‐shock proteins have been implicated in the pathogenesis of various immunological destructive disorders.

1 August 1993

Su Kong Lo, Roger W. Chapman, Kenneth A. Fleming, Peter A. Berg, Reinhild Klein – 1 August 1993

Fernando Vidal‐Vanaclocha, Marian Rocha, Aintzane Asumendi, Emilio Barberá‐Guillem – 1 August 1993 – Similar to the well‐recognized phenotypical heterogeneity of hepatocytes, in situ sublobular variations have recently been detected in the cell structure, fenestration patterns, filtrating efficiency, surface glycosylation, scavenger function and pathological responses of the sinusoidal lining endothelium.

Iwao Kurose, Shinzo Kato, Hiromasa Ishii, Dai Fukumura, Soichiro Miura, Makoto Suematsu, Masaharu Tsuchiy – 1 August 1993 – The influence of endogenous nitric oxide, which is generated by stimulation with lipopolysaccharide, on the mitochondrial energization of rat hepatocytes was investigated in vitro and ex vivo.

Mercedes Fernández, Pilar Pizcueta, Juan Carlos García‐Pagán, Faust Feu, Isabel Cirera, Jaime Bosch, Joan Rodés – 1 August 1993 – This study investigated the short‐term effects of ritanserin, a selective and specific S2‐serotonergic antagonist, in an experimental model of cirrhosis and intrahepatic portal hypertension caused by long‐term bile duct ligation and division and in normal control rats.

Jorge J. Gumucio, James L. Watkins, Thelma E. Wiley, Thomas J. Layden – 1 August 1993 – Many cases of gallstones can be explained in terms of the established risk factors, especially obesity. However, gallstones develop in some women who are not obese, and the causes are unknown. Biochemical studies have shown that slow intestinal transit is associated with lithogenic bile. We have tested the hypothesis that intestinal transit is abnormally slow in normal‐weight women with gallstones.