title: Human hepatocyte growth factor in blood of patients with fulminant hepatic failure. Basic aspects.
abstract: Human hepatocyte growth factor (hHGF) was purified from the plasma of six patients with fulminant hepatic failure due to hepatitis B in two and non-A, non-B hepatitis in four. The purified hHGF from each patient contained two major protein bands having molecular weights of 79,000 and 86,000 and several minor bands having molecular weights between 76,000 and 92,000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis performed under nonreduced conditions. After reduction with 2-mercaptoethanol, three major bands having molecular weights of 58,000, 34,500, and 31,500 were evident. In addition, a band having a molecular weight of 21,000 was detected. hHGF activity was destroyed by its reduction. The hHGF purified from patients demonstrated a dose response in terms of an increase in DNA synthesis using cultured hepatocytes. The hHGF concentration in the plasma of the patients with grade III-IV hepatic coma was calculated to be in the range of 1.8-3.0 nM. Finally the heavy chain of hHGF was not recognized by an anti-human albumin antibody, indicating that hHGF is not biliprotein, an albumin-bilirubin complex, that has been reported to be a putative liver growth factor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Kagoshima University Dental School, Japan.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gohda
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsubouchi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hirono
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arakaki
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Daikuhara
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000097:blood* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006501:Hepatic Encephalopathy / Q000097:blood; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D006133:Growth Substances; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor