title: Reduction of monocrotaline-induced hepatic injury by deleted variant of hepatocyte growth factor (dHGF) in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Monocrotaline is a hepatotoxic agent which exerts predominant toxicity to central veins and centrilobular sinusoids. In this study, we investigated the effects of deleted variant of hepatocyte growth factor (dHGF) on monocrotaline-induced hepatic injury in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  100 mg/kg monocrotaline was gavaged to male rats twice with a 4-days' interval. Treatment of dHGF was started 4 days before the initial administration of monocrotaline and 500 microg/kg was intravenously injected twice daily for 11 days.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Monocrotaline induced severe damage of central veins and destruction of central zone of hepatic lobules concurrent with derangement of blood levels of total protein, albumin, alanine-aminotransferase, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, and hepaplastin time. dHGF reduced the structural and blood-chemical abnormalities induced by monocrotaline.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that dHGF prevented and repaired the monocrotaline-induced hepatic injury, and could have therapeutic potency in hepatic failure with sever centrilobular destruction.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Life Science, Snow Brand Milk Products, Co, Ltd, Tochigi, Japan. yyas@mug.viglobe.ne.jp
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Nobuaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fujise
authors.forename: Eiichi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Masunaga
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019963:Clinical Chemistry Tests; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D016686:Monocrotaline / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity*; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D020033:Protein Isoforms; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor; D016686:Monocrotaline