title: Tri-iodothyronine as a stimulator of liver regeneration after partial and subtotal hepatectomy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tri-iodothyronine (T3) has been shown to be a hepatic mitogen. We investigated whether exogenous application of T3 improves liver regeneration after 70% partial hepatectomy (PH) and confers a survival advantage after 90% subtotal hepatectomy (SH) in rats and whether this is associated with the stimulation of angiogenesis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rats were subjected to PH or SH 10 days after injection of a single dose of T3. Liver body weight ratio (LBR), hepatic proliferation (Ki-67), biochemical markers as well as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Gene expression of pathogenic relevant genes was determined by customized cDNA arrays and quantitative RT-PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  T3-treated rats showed an increased LBR and Ki-67 index after PH and SH, which reached statistical significance compared to placebo-treated rats (p < 0.05). On the transcriptional level, T3-treated rats had an increased expression of VEGF as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry, which was associated with a higher expression of its receptor Flt-1.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Exogenous administration of T3 ameliorates liver regeneration after 70% PH and 90% SH, possibly due to stimulation of angiogenesis. Therefore, its clinical use might be of interest due to its excellent general practicability.
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany. maximilian.bockhorn@uk-essen.de
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bockhorn
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frilling
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Benko
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Best
authors.forename: S-Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Sheu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trippler
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Schlaak
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Broelsch
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D005969:Glutamate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood; D006498:Hepatectomy; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000601:surgery; D008115:Liver Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015996:Survival Rate; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D014284:Triiodothyronine; D005969:Glutamate Dehydrogenase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase