Robert F. Speck, Bernhard H. Lauterburg – 1 March 1991 – Recent observations suggest that products of nonparenchymal liver cells such as eicosanoids and cytokines might play a role in the expression of liver injury after administration of acetaminophen and other noxious agents. We therefore investigated the effect of a fish oil diet, which results in the generation of eicosanoids with altered biological properties and suppresses the production of certain cytokines on acetaminophen hepatotoxicity.

Jorge J. Gumucio, Peter F. Malet – 1 March 1991 – Endoscopic intra abdominal surgery yet routinely used for gynecologic operations can be extended for performing cholecystectomy in uncomplicated cholelithiasis.

Shelley P. M. Fussey, J. Gordon Lindsay, Christopher Fuller, Richard N. Perham, Susan Dale, Oliver F. W. James, Margaret F. Bassendine, Stephen J. Yeaman – 1 March 1991 – Six components of the mammalian 2‐oxo acid dehydrogenase complexes have previously been identified as M2 autoantigens in primary biliary cirrhosis. In this report, we present data showing that both polypeptidespecific and cross‐reacting antibodies are present in patients' sera. Antibodies reacting with E2 of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex cross‐react with protein X but not with any other mammalian antigen.

Jorge Cerbón‐Ambriz, Jorge Cerbón‐Solórzano, Marcos Rojkind – 1 March 1991 – Previous work has shown that lactic acid, and to a lesser extent pyruvic acid, is able to increase collagen synthesis significantly in liver slices of CCl4‐treated rats but not normal rats. The purpose of this report is to document which cells in the cirrhotic liver are responsible for the lactate‐stimulated increase in collagen synthesis.

William J. Lindblad, Erin G. Schuetz, Kaye S. Redford, Philip S. Guzelian – 1 February 1991 – Hepatocytes maintained on different substrata in vitro possess strikingly different morphological and biochemical features. Rounded, multicellular aggregates of hepatocytes are seen if the cells are plated onto Matrigel, a reconstituted basement membrane, whereas a flattened, monolayer of hepatocytes is observed with Vitrogen. Hepatocellular protein synthesis is much greater on the Matrigel, although collagen biosynthesis appears selectively enhanced on Vitrogen‐grown hepatocytes.

Mei‐Hwei Chang, Pei‐Jer Chen, Jen‐Yang Chen, Ming‐Yang Lai, Hey‐Chi Hsu, Der‐Cheng Lian, Yueh‐Giao Liu, Ding‐Shinn Chen – 1 February 1991 – In Taiwan, hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the major malignancies in children between 5 and 14 yr of age. We studied the status of hepatitis B virus DNA in the hepatocellular carcinoma and nontumorous liver tissues of eight children with positive serum HBsAg and maternal HBsAg.

Santiago J. Muñoz, Murray Robinson, Bruce Northrup, Rodney Bell, Michael Moritz, Bruce Jarrell, Paul Martin, Willis C. Maddrey – 1 February 1991 – Cerebral herniation is a leading cause of death in patients with fulminant hepatocellular failure. Classical signs of elevated intracranial pressure are often absent in these patients. A reliable noninvasive method by which the presence of cerebral edema could be determined is much needed.

Doris Hugo‐Wissemann, Irene Anundi, Werner Lauchart, Richard Viebahn, Herbert de Groot – 1 February 1991 – Viability, glycolytic capacity and energy metabolism under anaerobic conditions were studied in the hepatoma cell lines HTC, FU5 and HepG2 and in rat and human hepatocytes using glucose and fructose as glycolytic precursors. During 6 hr of anaerobic incubation without additional substrate, viability decreased rapidly in FU5 and HTC cells, whereas viability of HepG2 cells was not significantly affected.

Johnson Y. N. Lau, Nick Sheron, Alan G. Morris, Adrian B. Bomford, Graeme J. M. Alexander, Roger Williams – 1 February 1991 – Interferon‐α elicits antiviral and immunoregulatory activities by binding to specific receptors on the cell surface. In this study, binding characteristics of interferon‐α to peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection were studied using radioiodinated recombinant interferon‐α2b to determine interferon‐α receptor numbers and dissociation constants.

Kazuo Tanoue, Seigo Kitano, Makoto Hashizume, Hiroya Wada, Keizo Sugimachi – 1 February 1991 – We have developed a new method for inducing portal hypertension and esophageal varices in rats—partial ligation of the portal vein after devascularization of the circumference of the left renal vein and complete ligation of the portal vein on the fifth day thereafter. Thirty rats were separated into groups of 10, control (sham operation), complete portal ligation only and complete portal ligation plus devascularization.