J. Thomas Lamont, Bernard F. Smith, James R. L. Moore – 1 September 1984 – A critical step in the formation of cholesterol gallstones is nucleation (i.e., the formation of cholesterol monohydrate crystals from supersaturated bile). The rate of nucleation of cholesterol depends upon a critical balance between pronucleating and antinucleating factors in bile. Mucin, a high molecular weight glycoprotein secreted by the gallbladder and biliary duct epithelium, is a pronucleating agent in experimental and human gallstone disease.

Martin C. Carey, Norman A. Mazer – 1 September 1984 – The secretory compartment for biliary lecithin and cholesterol secretion probably resides in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum of the hepatocyte. The secretory compartment for bile salts lies predominantly in the enterohepatic circulation which fluxes bile salts continuously through the smooth endoplasmic reticulum compartment and extracts lipids for secretion into bile. Most of bile lecithin is newly synthesized by the liver; most of bile cholesterol is derived from extrahepatic sources.

Charles S. Davidson – 1 September 1984

Marcos Rojkind – 1 September 1984

Kurt Weigand, Pierre‐Yves Zaugg, Alain Frei, Arthur Zimmermann – 1 September 1984 – To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic significance of the N‐terminal propeptide of collagen Type III (Col 1–3) in chronic liver disease, the peptide level was measured in the serum of 4 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, 5 with chronic persistent hepatitis, 12 with chronic active hepatitis, and 1 with autoimmune hepatitis, for a period of 2 to 10 years and compared with liver function and histology.

1 September 1984

Charles S. Davidson, Noel W. Solomons – 1 September 1984

Rolf Hultcrantz, Silva Mengarelli – 1 September 1984 – A light and electron microscopic investigation of liver tissue from three homozygous (Pi‐type ZZ) and three heterozygous (Pi‐type MZ) α1‐antitrypsin deficiency patients is presented. All had slightly elevated levels of serum amino transferases as the only signs of liver damage. Light microscopical investigation showed minor periportal fibrosis and periodic acid‐Schiff‐positive globules in the homozygous patients, but no specific findings besides fatty changes were seen in the heterozygous patients.

Thomas G. Brewer, William R. Berry, John W. Harmon, Strothers H. Walker, Michael A. Dunn – 1 September 1984 – Urea synthesis is an exclusive biosynthetic function of the liver. Since the exact relationship between urea synthesis in vivo and functional liver mass remains unclear, we established an animal model using oral protein loading and measurement of resultant urea synthesis in rats. We studied rats subjected to sham operation, 40% hepatectomy, 66% hepatectomy, portacaval shunt and CC14‐induced cirrhosis.

Kenneth H. Burk, Gordon R. Dreesman, Guy A. Cabral, Robert L. Peters – 1 September 1984 – We have observed the development of long‐term sequelae in four cases of experimentally induced non‐A, non‐B (NANB) hepatitis in chimpanzees. These sequelae were characterized by the following manifestations: nonprotection against challenge with autologous infectious plasma following acute disease and subtle histopathological alterations typical of long‐lasting viral hepatitis. These manifestations were observed in animals infected with either of two human inocula.