William P. J. Leenders, Harrie L. Glansbeek, Wieke C. C. De Bruin, Sing‐Hiem Yap – 1 July 1990 – A likely mechanism of the strong hepatotrophism of the hepatitis B virus is the presence of specific receptors for the surface antigen of hepatitis B virus on hepatocyte membranes. To examine this hypothesis, we have performed binding studies using recombinant large (preS1 + preS2 + S) and major (S) proteins with adult human hepatocytes, rat hepatocytes, human fibroblasts, human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and plasma membranes derived from these cell types.

Ellen B. Hunter, Stephen P. Powers, Louis J. Kost, Delia I. Pinon, Laurence J. Miller, Nicholas F. LaRusso – 1 July 1990 – Although the liver is known to extract amino acids and organic anions by well‐characterized transport systems, the factors that regulate the hepatic uptake of small, circulating peptides are poorly understood. We previously reported that cholecystokinin octapeptide, a biologically active form of cholecystokinin, is efficiently cleared by the liver and that uptake depends on its carboxyl‐terminal tetrapeptide (Trp‐Met‐Asp‐PheNH2).

Subhankar Bandyopadhyay, James E. Klaunig, Pitambar Somani – 1 July 1990 – Hepatocytes from adult male Sprague‐Dawley rats were isolated by the two‐stage collagenase perfusion technique; 1 × 106 cells/plate were incubated in primary cell culture in Leibovitz's L‐15 medium for 24 hr with or without various concentrations (12.5 to 400 μmol/L) of cardioactive cationic amphiphilic compounds such as propranolol, verapamil, sotalol, atenolol and procainamide.

Richard Moreau, Antoine Hadengue, Thierry Soupison, Guy Mechin, Michel Assous, Jacqueline Roche‐Sicot, Christian Sicot – 1 July 1990 – In patients with cirrhosis, vasopressin infusion induces sustained vasoconstriction and elevation of arterial pressure. The vasopressor effect could be caused by impairment of mechanisms normally aimed at buffering increases in arterial pressure (reflex bradycardia and decreases in arteriolar resistance).

Shinzo Kato, Hiromasa Ishii, Sadakazu Aiso, Shuji Yamashita, Daisuke Ito, Masaharu Tsuchiya – 1 July 1990 – The distribution of alcohol dehydrogenase in the hepatic acinus was examined by both histochemical and immunohistochemical approaches. The immunohistochemical method using anti–alcohol dehydrogenase antibody indicated zone 3 predominance of this enzyme in the hepatic acinus, whereas a conventional histochemical method showed slight zone 1 predominance.

H. J. R. Bussey – 1 July 1990 – Two cases of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with familial polyposis coli (FPC) have recently been reported in the literature. Hepatoblastoma was also reported in five children with maternal ancestors with FPC. We report a case of hepatoblastoma in a female infant whose father has FPC as further evidence of an association between hepatoblastoma and FPC.

Marie Borum, Hans Fromm – 1 July 1990 – We studied the effect of ursodeoxycholic acid on 18 women and 2 men with primary biliary cirrhosis, mainly stages I and II. After a 3‐mo observation period, patients were randomized to a 9‐mo treatment period with ursodeoxycholic acid, 10 mg/kg · day, or placebo. Two patients on placebo left the study.

R. Batey, Harold O. Conn – 1 July 1990 – After consuming comparable amounts of ethanol, women have higher blood ethanol concentrations than men, even with allowance for differences in size, and are more susceptible to alcoholic liver disease. Recently, we documented significant “first‐pass metabolism” of ethanol due to its oxidation by gastric tissue. We report a study of the possible contribution of this metabolism to the sex‐related difference in blood alcohol concentrations in 20 men and 23 women. Six in each group were alcoholics.

Gotaro Yamada, Kouichi Takaguchi, Kazuhiro Matsueda, Hiroshi Nishimoto, Michiko Takahashi, Shigeatsu Fujiki, Motowo Mizuno, Shingo Kinoyama, Takao Tsuji – 1 July 1990 – Immune light and electron microscopic studies using monoclonal antibodies have been applied to localize HBeAg in liver biopsy specimens of 19 patients with chronic hepatitis B. Under the light microscope, HBeAg was demonstrated in nuclei, cytoplasm and on the cell surface of hepatocytes. The number of HBeAg‐positive hepatocytes correlated well with the serum levels of HBeAg (enzyme immunoassay) and DNA‐polymerase.

Tadashi Terada, Yasuni Nakanuma – 1 July 1990 – It remains unclear whether atypical epithelial lesions, including carcinomas and precancerous lesions, develop in intraheptic peribiliary glands. This question was tested in this study. One thousand livers from consecutive autopsies were surveyed and 201 livers with bile duct carcinomas or metastatic malignant neoplasms were excluded because atypical epithelial lesions of the glands were difficult to distinguish from the primary or metastatic malignant cells.