Involvement of annexin I and annexin II in hepatocyte proliferation: can annexins I and II be markers for proliferative hepatocytes?
Annexin is the name of a new family of Ca(2+)-dependent membrane-binding proteins. Eleven types of its related proteins have been reported to date. Among those, annexin I and annexin II have been reported to possess many biological functions in vitro. Its actual role in vivo, however, is yet unknown. The involvement of annexin I and annexin II in the proliferation processes of hepatocytes was examined in the following aspects: (a) hepatocyte proliferation after carbon tetrachloride-induced liver damage, (b) hepatocyte regeneration after partial hepatectomy and (c) postnatal development of hepatocytes. These results showed collectively that annexin I and annexin II were increased in proliferative (or regenerative) hepatocytes, suggesting that both proteins play a certain role in the proliferation event. Furthermore, annexin I- and annexin II-positive hepatocytes always show a wider distribution than that of proliferating cell nuclear antigen or cytokeratin 7-positive hepatocytes, indicating that annexin I and annexin II may be useful markers for detecting not only actively proliferating hepatocytes but also hepatocytes in preproliferative and postproliferative stages.
Masaki
T
T
Department of Physiology, Kagawa Medical School, Japan.
Tokuda
M
M
Fujimura
T
T
Ohnishi
M
M
Tai
Y
Y
Miyamoto
K
K
Itano
T
T
Matsui
H
H
Watanabe
S
S
Sogawa
K
K
D000818:Animals; D017305:Annexin A1 / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D017306:Annexin A2 / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride; D002455:Cell Division; D006498:Hepatectomy; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007633:Keratins / Q000032:analysis; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D008115:Liver Regeneration; D008297:Male; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D017305:Annexin A1; D017306:Annexin A2; D015415:Biomarkers; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D007633:Keratins; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride