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The presence of peripheral periportal fibrosis, heterogeneity of hepatic parenchyma, and splenic siderotic nodules, and the splenic index and caudate lobe-right lobe ratio are useful features for differentiating alcoholic or virus-induced cirrhosis from chronic schistosomiasis using MRI.

Events can be summarized as: the hypertensive action of BK on sinusoidal cells of the periportal region is followed by its hydrolysis by ACE which is primarily present in the perivenous region; there is no functional B1R in the normal liver; BK induces HAHR via eicosanoid release and PHR by a distinct pathway on the B2R. Our data suggest that BK may participate in the modulation of sinusoidal microvasculature tonus both in the portal and the arterial routes.

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Exsanguinated rat liver preparations perfused in situ with oxygenated saline solutions inactivated recirculating bradykinin (BK) at rates of 2.3 to 9.1 and isoleucyl5 angiotensin II (AII) at rates of 2.8 to 15.0 nmoles X min-1 X g-1 of liver, depending on the initial concentration of the peptides in the perfusion fluid (3.1 to 18.9 X 10(-6) M for BK and 8.5 to 17.0 X 10(-6) M for AII). On the other hand, at similar concentrations, recirculation of isoleucyl5 Angiotensin I (AI) for 8 min did not lead to decrease of its biological activity when assayed on the isolated rat uterus. Following a single passage through liver, picomole amounts of both BK and AII were inactivated by about 90% as revealed by assays on a superfused rat uterus. The potency ratio AI:AII, assayed on a superfused rat uterus was 1:22 and changed to 1:5 following a single passage of both peptides through liver. This finding and the separation of 4.9% of AII on carboxymethylcellulose columns following recirculation of AI through rat liver indicate a conversion of AI into AII. The dipeptides Phe-Arg, Ser-Pro and Gly-Phe were identified among the hydrolysis products of perfused BK. A peptidyldipeptide hydrolase (EC 3.4.15) may be responsible for both the BK inactivation and AI conversion. The inactivation of AII cannot be attributed to the same enzyme.

Objective Lack of knowledge is one of the factors responsible for the persistence of infectious diseases in

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