Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) mRNA expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma tissue and non-cancerous liver tissue.

Background: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) regulates lipid metabolism in the liver. It is unclear, however, how this receptor changes in liver cancer tissue. On the other hand, mouse carcinogenicity studies showed that PPARα is necessary for the development of liver cancer induced by peroxisome proliferators, and the relationship between PPARα and the development of liver cancer have been the focus of considerable attention.

Usefulness of Real-Time 4D Ultrasonography during Radiofrequency Ablation in a Case of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

We report a case of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with chronic hepatitis C virus infection successfully treated with percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) under live four-dimensional (4D) echo guidance. A 65-year-old Japanese man had a HCC nodule in the liver S5 region 2.0 cm in diameter.

No evidence for patient-to-patient transmission of hepatitis C virus during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: molecular studies on three acute hepatitis C patients.

Background: The risk of patient-to-patient transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) during endoscopy remains controversial. Using molecular approaches, we examined the possibility of patient-to-patient transmission of HCV in three patients who developed acute hepatitis C 1-6 months after examination by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (UGIE) in a hospital endoscopy unit in Japan.

Methods: For the source of HCV infection, we used frozen sera obtained from potential candidates who underwent UGIE earlier than three index patients on the same days in the same unit.

Molecular analysis of transmission of hepatitis C virus in a nurse who acquired acute hepatitis C after caring for a viremic patient with epistaxis.

A 23-year-old nurse (HC-IP) developed acute hepatitis C. Intrafamilial transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) was suspected initially because her parents were carriers of HCV of the same genotype (1b) as that of Patient HC-IP. However, the HCV isolate from Patient HC-IP and those from her parents shared identities of only 92.

High mobility group box associated with cell proliferation appears to play an important role in hepatocellular carcinogenesis in rats and humans.

To identify genes important in hepatocellular carcinogenesis, especially processes involved in malignant transformation, we focused on differences in gene expression between adenomas and carcinomas by DNA microarray. Eighty-one genes for which expression was specific in carcinomas were analyzed using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software and Gene Ontology, and found to be associated with TP53 and regulators of cell proliferation. In the genes associated with TP53, we selected high mobility group box (HMGB) for detailed analysis.

Alterations of DNA methylation and histone modifications contribute to gene silencing in hepatocellular carcinomas.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to examine DNA methylation and histone modification changes in hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC).

Methods: DNA methylation in the P16, RASSF1a, progesterone receptor (PGR) and estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) promoters was determined by quantitative bisulfite-pyrosequencing technique in HCC patients. Histone H3-lysine (K) 4, H3-K9 and H3-K27 modifications in all these four genes were examined by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay in HCC cell lines.

Full-length sequences of subgenotype IIIA and IIIB hepatitis A virus isolates: characterization of genotype III HAV genomes.

To elucidate the extent of genomic heterogeneity of human hepatitis A virus (HAV) strains and to characterize genotype III HAV strains over the entire genome, the full-length sequence of three subgenotype IIIA isolates (HA-JNG04-90F, HA-JNG08-92F, and HAJ95-8F) and one IIIB isolate (HAJ85-1F) was determined. The HA-JNG04-90F, HA-JNG08-92F, and HAJ95-8F genomes which comprised 7463 or 7464 nt excluding the poly(A) tail, were closest to a reported nearly entire sequence of a IIIA isolate (NOR-21) with identities of 94.4-97.

Analysis of the full-length genome of a subgenotype IIIB hepatitis A virus isolate: primers for broadly reactive PCR and genotypic analysis.

Among six known subgenotypes (IA, IB, IIA, IIB, IIIA, and IIIB) of human hepatitis A virus (HAV), the complete genomic sequence has not been determined for IIIB. In this study, the full-length genomic sequence of a IIIB HAV isolate (HA-JNG06-90F) recovered from a Japanese patient who contracted sporadic hepatitis A in 1990, was determined. The HA-JNG06-90F genome, which comprised 7462 nt excluding the poly(A) tail, was related most closely to NOR-21 of subgenotype IIIA with an identity of 89.

Distinct changing profiles of hepatitis A and E virus infection among patients with acute hepatitis, patients on maintenance hemodialysis and healthy individuals in Japan.

To compare the epidemiologic profiles of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections in Japan, the prevalence of clinical or subclinical HAV and HEV infections was investigated serologically and molecularly among 128 consecutive patients (age, mean +/- standard deviation, 37.5 +/- 14.7 years) who contracted acute hepatitis between 1989 and 2005 in a city hospital, and among 416 hemodialysis patients (60.

Serological and molecular studies on subclinical hepatitis E virus infection using periodic serum samples obtained from healthy individuals.

Subclinical hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection among healthy individuals was studied serologically and molecularly. Serum samples collected at screening between March and April 2004 (or just before retirement) from 266 medical staff members (35 males, 231 females) who had been working for 8.8 +/- 8.

Simultaneous detection of immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgM antibodies against hepatitis E virus (HEV) Is highly specific for diagnosis of acute HEV infection.

Serum samples collected from 68 patients (age, mean +/- the standard deviation [SD], 56.3 +/- 12.8 years) at admission who were subsequently molecularly diagnosed as having hepatitis E and from 2,781 individuals who were assumed not to have been recently infected with hepatitis E virus (HEV; negative controls; 52.

Prevalence of hepatitis E virus infection among hemodialysis patients in Japan: evidence for infection with a genotype 3 HEV by blood transfusion.

To investigate the prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection among patients on maintenance hemodialysis, serum samples collected in January 2003 from 416 patients who had been undergoing hemodialysis for 7.6 +/- 6.3 (mean +/- standard deviation) (range, 0.