Expansion of transplanted hepatocytes during liver regeneration.
BACKGROUND
Successful clinical application of hepatocyte transplantation has been limited by poor engraftment of the recipient liver by transplanted hepatocytes.


METHODS
To address the hypothesis that liver regeneration induced by an acute hepatotoxic injury promotes expansion of transplanted hepatocytes, we injected beta-galactosidase-labeled hepatocytes intrasplenically into mice 24 hr after treatment with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and into untreated controls.


RESULTS
Macroscopic examination of whole liver segments identified clusters of transplanted hepatocytes uniformly spread on the capsular surface of the recipient liver and in the liver core following the distribution pattern of portal vein branches. Frozen sections showed that although the degree of initial engraftment of transplanted hepatocytes was similar in CCl4-treated and control livers, there was a fourfold increase of engrafted hepatocytes in CCl4-treated livers 10 days after transplantation which persisted to 28 days.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that the number of transplanted hepatocytes increases in response to regeneration signal triggered by an acute hepatocyte-specific liver injury.
Yazigi
N A
NA
Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229, USA.
Carrick
T L
TL
Bucuvalas
J C
JC
Schmidt
C S
CS
Balistreri
W F
WF
Bezerra
J A
JA
D000818:Animals; D002252:Carbon Tetrachloride Poisoning / Q000473:pathology*; D017690:Cell Transplantation; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000502:physiology; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008115:Liver Regeneration; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D013154:Spleen; D013997:Time Factors; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014162:Transfection; D016042:Transplantation, Heterotopic; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000096:biosynthesis
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor; D001616:beta-Galactosidase