Joachim C. Arnold, Bernard C. Portmann, John G. O'grady, Nikolai V. Naoumov, Graeme J. M. Alexander, Roger Williams – 1 August 1992 – Cytomegalovirus infection is one factor implicated in the cause of the vanishing bile duct syndrome complicating liver transplantation. To further investigate the role of cytomegalovirus in this syndrome, we studied serial liver biopsy material by in situ hybridization for cytomegalovirus DNA using a highly sensitive technique that allows the localization of viral replication.

Kentaro Yoshioka, Shinichi Kakumu, Takaji Wakita, Tetsuya Ishikawa, Yuji Itoh, Masahiro Takayanagi, Yasuyuki Higashi, Motohiro Shibata, Tsuneo Morishima – 1 August 1992 – To investigate the relationship between genotypes of hepatitis C virus and response to interferon‐α therapy, hepatitis C virus RNA was assayed by polymerase chain reaction with three sets of primers and probes in 70 patients with non‐A, non‐B chronic hepatitis who received interferon‐α. Twenty‐four patients sustained long‐term remissions (complete responders).

Masahide Yoshikawa, Tadasu Tsujii, Keisuke Matsumura, Junnichi Yamao, Yoshinobu Matsumura, Ryouichi Kubo, Hiroshi Fukui, Shigeaki Ishizaka – 1 August 1992 – Ursodeoxycholic acid was recently recognized as an effective agent in the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis. Experimental evidence supporting the usefulness of ursodeoxycholic acid as a potentially beneficial therapeutic agent for primary biliary cirrhosis has been reported from the biochemical and physiological aspects.

Myriam Delhaye, Béatrice Gulbis, Paul Galand, Nicole Mairesse – 1 August 1992 – Previous study of rat liver during chemically induced hepatocarcinogenesis has shown that expression of isoforms of the 27‐kD heat‐shock protein was greater in neoplastic nodules and in hepatocellular carcinoma than in control livers. In this study, various human neoplastic and nonneoplastic liver tissues were investigated with electrophoresis after amino acid labeling to evaluate the expression of 27‐kD heat‐shock protein isoforms.

Hiromi Himeno, Toshiji Saibara, Saburo Onishi, Yasutake Yamamoto, Hideaki Enzan – 1 August 1992 – In various organ‐specific autoimmune diseases, aberrant expression of major histocompatibility complex class II antigens on each target epithelial cell has been reported. Some researchers have attempted to link this phenomenon to the antigen‐presenting capacity and the induction of autoimmunity, whereas others think it might serve as a peripheral mechanism for the induction and the maintenance of self‐tolerance in autoreactive T cells.

Steven E. Raper, Piyush C. Kothary, John Del Valle – 1 August 1992 – Binding of somatostatin‐14 to rat liver plasma membranes was characterized with 125‐labeled[tyr11] somatostatin‐14. Binding at 24° C reached a plateau at 50 min and was reversible by synthetic somatostatin‐14. Scatchard analysis revealed a single class of binding sites (affinity constant = 2.4 ± 0.2 nmol/L, binding capacity = 148 ± 0.02 fmol/mg protein).

Kris V. Kowdley, Anthony S. Tavill – 1 August 1992 – An iron loaded liver from a 40 year old man with occult haemochromatosis was transplanted into a 19 year old woman with acute liver failure secondary to a paracetamol overdose. Increased parenchymal hepatic iron was found in a liver specimen at biopsy under‐taken because of mild rejection 30 days after transplantation. After transplantation the patient had two episodes of liver rejection confirmed by biopsy. The hepatic iron concentration fell from 161 μmol/g on day 30 after transplant to 26.5 μmol/g (normal < 40) on day 210.

Giuseppe Maggiore, Costantino de Giacomo – 1 August 1992

Chen‐Kung Chou, Li‐Hsien Wang, Hsing‐Mei Lin, Chin‐Wen Chi – 1 July 1992 – Glucocorticoids have been shown to influence the severity of hepatitis B virus–related chronic hepatitis in human. However, very little is known about the effects of glucocorticoids on hepatitis B virus replication in vitro. In this report, we used a welldifferentiated human hepatoma cell line, Hep3B, transfected with hepatitis B virus complementary DNA as a model to show that a glucocorticoid analog, dexamethasone, can directly stimulate the production of HBsAg and HBeAg.

Luis Sanchez‐Urdazpal, Gregory J. Gores, Ellen M. Ward, Timothy P. Maus, H. Erik Wahlstrom, S. Breanndan Moore, Russell H. Wiesner, Ruud A. F. Krom – 1 July 1992 – Nonanastomotic biliary strictures that involve only the biliary tree of the graft occur after orthotopic liver transplantation in patients with hepatic artery thrombosis, chronic ductopenic rejection and ABO blood group incompatibility. This complication may also occur in the absence of these known risk factors.