New animal models for autoimmune hepatitis.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is often diagnosed late in the disease course and usually requires lifelong immunosuppressive therapy. Unfortunately, the etiology of the disease and the mechanisms leading to the autoimmune destruction of the liver parenchyma are only poorly understood. For a long time, one reason for this lack of apprehension was the absence of reliable animal models with a chronic immune response against liver tissues.

Computer-aided analysis of cell interactions under dynamic flow conditions.

Experimentally, initial steps of leucocyte extravasation, including tethering and rolling, are analysed in endothelial cell flow chambers. Given the complexity and speed of endothelial-immune cell interaction, computer-aided advances of this analysis are highly desirable. Herein, we compared two established methods, hand counting and tracking software, with novel analysis software using defined movies recorded at standard conditions of endothelial-leucocyte interactions.