title: Stimulation of hepatocyte survival and suppression of CCl4-induced liver injury by the adenovirally introduced C/EBPbeta gene.
abstract: Gene therapy has attracted attention as a potentially effective alternative to liver transplantation for the treatment of hepatic failure. We chose the C/EBPbeta gene, which plays vital roles in liver regeneration, as a candidate for gene therapy, and examined its effect on hepatocyte survival and the suppression of liver inflammation. C/EBPbeta gene overexpression significantly maintained hepatocyte viability during 12 days of the culture. Urea synthesis ability, which is a liver-specific function, in Adv-C/EBPbeta-infected hepatocytes was stably maintained during the culture, but the activity per cell was significantly lower than that in non-infected cells. On the contrary, DNA synthesis activity in Adv-C/EBPbeta-infected hepatocytes was significantly higher than that in non-infected cells. COX-2 was induced in Adv-C/EBPbeta-infected hepatocytes, and the addition of NS398, a specific inhibitor of COX-2, suppressed the viability-maintenance effect. COX-2 was thus shown to be involved in the survival effect of C/EBPbeta gene. The introduction of the C/EBPbeta gene into liver-damaged mice significantly suppressed the serum AST and ALT activities. These results indicate that C/EBPbeta appears to be a survival factor under stressful conditions, and the introduction of the gene has therapeutic function against liver injury.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bio-functional Molecular Chemistry, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, 1-6 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors.forename: Katsuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Isoda
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koide
authors.forename: Midori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.forename: Eri
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arita
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ikkaku
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Higashiyama
authors.forename: Fumi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tashiro
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yamato
authors.forename: Jun-Ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.forename: Masaya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawase
authors.forename: Kiyohito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yagi
mesh_terms: D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine / Q000494:pharmacology; D022782:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-beta / Q000235:genetics; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003470:Culture Media / Q000494:pharmacology; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D007249:Inflammation; D007763:Lac Operon; D008099:Liver / Q000293:injuries* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009578:Nitrobenzenes / Q000494:pharmacology; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000494:pharmacology; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors; D014508:Urea / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D022782:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-beta; D003470:Culture Media; D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D009578:Nitrobenzenes; D013449:Sulfonamides; C080955:N-(2-cyclohexyloxy-4-nitrophenyl)methanesulfonamide; D014508:Urea; D004247:DNA; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine