Maria Anna Leo, Cho‐Il Kim, Nancy Lowe, Charles S. Lieber – 1 May 1992 – Because we had found that ethanol interacts with retinol, we investigated whether it also affects its precursor, β‐carotene. In 14 baboons fed ethanol (50% of total energy) for 2 to 5 yr with a standard amount of β‐carotene (one 200‐gm carrot/day), levels of β‐carotene were much higher than in controls fed isocaloric carbohydrate, both in plasma (122.5 ± 30.9 nmol/dl vs. 6.3 ± 1.4 nmol/dl; p < 0.005) and in liver (7.9 ± 1.1 nmol/gm vs. 1.8 ± 0.5 nmol/gm; p < 0.001).

Daniel J. Smith – 1 May 1992 – The secretion of bile by the liver is primarily determined by the ability of the hepatocyte to transport bile acids into the bile canaliculus. A carrier‐mediated process for the transport of taurocholate, the major bile acid in humans and rats, was previously demonstrated in canalicular membrane vesicles from rat liver. This process is driven by an outside‐positive membrane potential that is, however, insufficient to explain the large bile acid concentration gradient between the hepatocyte and bile.

Jeffrey S. Crippin, Kieth D. Lindor, Roberta Jorgensen, Bruce A. Kottke, Jay M. Harrison, Paul A. Murtaugh, E. Rolland Dickson – 1 May 1992 – Hypercholesterolemia is commonly associated with primary biliary cirrhosis. In the general population, elevated serum cholesterol is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis. The relative risk has been poorly defined in primary biliary cirrhosis patients with hyperlipidemia. In addition, the hyperlipidemic state seen with primary biliary cirrhosis has not been well studied.

Antonio Francavilla, Brian I. Carr, Thomas E. Starzl, Alessandro Azzarone, Giuseppe Carrieri, Qui‐Hua Zeng – 1 May 1992 – Rapamycin, a potent immunosuppressive drug that disrupts normal signal‐transduction processes, inhibited hepatocyte proliferation without evidence of inherent cytotoxicity in rat hepatocytes cultured in conventional medium or in a medium enriched with epidermal growth factor. The antiproliferative effect was dose dependent, uninfluenced by the concentration of epidermal growth factor in the medium and long lasting after a brief exposure.

Jay H. Hoofnagle – 1 May 1992

Jack H. Mendelson – 1 May 1992

1 May 1992

Gerald McMahon, Paul H. Ehrlich, Zeinab A. Moustafa, Linda A. McCarthy, Diane Dottavio, Mark D. Tolpin, Paul I. Nadler, Lars Östberg – 1 May 1992 – A gene region encoding a segment of the major surface protein, HBsAg, of hepatitis B virus was analyzed from serum samples after orthotopic liver transplantation of three hepatitis B virus chronic carrier patients treated with a human anti—hepatitis B virus monoclonal antibody (SDZ OST 577).

Salvatore Badalamenti, Gianmario Borroni, Elettra Lorenzano, Pierluigi Incerti, Francesco Salerno – 1 May 1992 – The administration of atrial natriuretic factor to patients with cirrhosis, and avid sodium retention causes marked hypotension and blunted kidney responses.

Carl A. Goresky, Ellen R. Gordon, Juan‐Ramon Sanabria, Steven M. Strasberg, M. Wayne Flye – 1 May 1992 – The species of bile pigments secreted in T‐tube fistula bile after liver transplantation were ascertained by high‐performance liquid chromatography in 15 patients for 10 days after liver transplant. Nine glycosidic conjugates and unconjugated bilirubin were resolved by the analytical procedure.