Alexander S. Petrides, Livio Luzi, Adrian Reuben, Caroline Riely, Ralph A. Defronzo – 1 September 1991 – Clinically stable patients with cirrhosis demonstrate insulin resistance with regard to glucose metabolism. However, much less is known about the two major factors, insulin and plasma amino acid concentration, that regulate protein metabolism in cirrhotic patients. To examine this question, we performed paired euglycemic insulin clamp studies in combination with 14Cleucine and indirect calorimetry.

Hiroshi Imamura, Seiji Kawasaki, Junji Shiga, Yasutsugu Bandai, Kensho Sanjo, Yasuo Idezuki – 1 September 1991 – A simple morphometrical method was developed using a color image analyzing system, which allowed quantitative evaluation of parenchymal liver cell volume and total hepatocyte number in cirrhotic patients. With this method, we estimated these values in 29 cirrhotic patients who underwent hepatic resection (nine cases) or nonshunting operation (20 cases).

Kensaku Hata, David H. van Thiel, Ronald B. Herberman, Theresa L. Whiteside – 1 September 1991 – Liver‐derived lymphocytes were isolated from 40 human livers with end‐stage liver disease that were removed at the time of orthotopic liver transplantation. In addition, 10 resection specimens or whole livers removed from patients with liver cancer and seven normal livers (unused donor organs) were studied as controls. Liver‐derived lymphocytes were isolated from enzymatically digested tissue by gradient centrifugation and adherence to plastic.

Rafael Bruck, Haia Prigozin, Zipora Krepel, Paul Rotenberg, Yoram Shechter, Simon Bar‐Meir – 1 September 1991 – Previous studies have demonstrated that vanadate ions mimic many of the actions of insulin in in vitro systems. Also, vanadate administered to diabetic hyperglycemic rats lowers their blood glucose levels to normal values. In this study we demonstrate that vanadate inhibits glucose output in the isolated perfused rat liver. Glucose production was suppressed maximally (about 50% to 60%), on addition of extremely low vanadate ion concentrations (0.5 to 1 μmol/L).

Laurence A. Turka, Craig B. Thompson – 1 September 1991 – The immunosuppressants FK506 and rapamycin bind to the same immunophilin, FK506 binding protein (FKBP), and inhibit distinct signal transduction pathways in T lymphocytes. A nonnatural immunophilin ligand, 506BD, which contains only the common structural elements of FK506 and rapamycin, was synthesized and found to be a high‐affinity ligand of FKBP and a potent inhibitor of FKBP rotamase activity. Whereas 506BD does not interfere with T cell activation, it does block the immunosuppressive effects of both FK506 and rapamycin.

Michael N. Gottlieb – 1 September 1991

Helmut K. Wolf, Reza Zarnegar, George K. Michalopoulos – 1 September 1991 – Hepatocyte growth factor is a protein growth factor with a strong mitogenic effect on hepatocytes. Recently, hepatocyte growth factor and hepatocyte growth factor messenger RNA have been extracted from several organs of humans, rats and rabbits. This study was undertaken to comprehensively define and compare the cellular localization of hepatocyte growth factor in human and rat tissues in detail.

John J. Brems, Jeffery Reese, Robert Kane, Donald L. Kaminski – 1 September 1991 – Cyclosporine and hydrocortisone are the main immunosuppressants used in transplant surgery. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of intravenous administration of cyclosporine and hydrocortisone on bile flow in dogs. Cyclosporine in doses of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mg · kg−1 · hr−1 and hydrocortisone in doses of 1.25, 2.5 and 5 mg · kg−1 · hr−1 were administered along with 18 μmol/min intravenous sodium taurocholate to dogs with chronic biliary and gastric fistulas.

1 August 1991

Joseph Y. Sung, Eldon A. Shaffer, Merle E. Olson, Joseph W. C. Leung, Kan Lam, J. William Costerton – 1 August 1991 – It has been suggested that bacteria in the intestine gain access into the biliary tract by entering the portal‐venous blood. We have tested the hypothesis of hematogenous infection of the biliary system in cats. The animals were treated in three different groups: group A (no biliary obstruction), group B (acute biliary obstruction) and group C (chronic biliary obstruction).