title: A new hepatocyte stimulating factor: cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1).
abstract: Recently, a novel cytokine, cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1), was cloned and found to induce cardiac myocyte hypertrophy in vitro. Amino acid sequence similarity showed CT-1 to be a member of the IL-6/LIF/CNTF/OSM/IL-11 cytokine family. Since all known members of the IL-6 cytokine family induce an hepatic acute phase protein (APP) gene expression, we investigated the ability of CT-1 to induce a liver acute phase response. Upon stimulation of rat hepatoma cells, CT-1 and LIF induced the strongest rat fibrinogen mRNA expression, OSM and IL-6 induced a less pronounced response. When human hepatoma cells and primary rat hepatocytes were stimulated with CT-1, the expression of human haptoglobin and rat alpha 2-macroglobulin mRNA was induced. The induction of the acute phase response was dose- and time-dependent. In this study we demonstrate that CT-1, a novel cytokine belonging to the IL-6 cytokine family, is a hepatocyte stimulating factor.
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Medicine, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Roeb
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pennica
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Meyer zum Büschenfelde
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rose-John
mesh_terms: D000209:Acute-Phase Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000378:metabolism; D016207:Cytokines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D051381:Rats; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D000209:Acute-Phase Proteins; D016207:Cytokines; C092073:cardiotrophin 1