title: VEGF is important for early liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of the study was to determine the role of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) on the microvasculature and on angiogenetic gene expression after partial hepatectomy (PH) in the rat model.
  
  
  METHODS
  To determine the effect of exogenous and endogenous VEGF after PH, rats were subjected to 70% PH and treated either with VEGF, anti-VEGF or NaCl. Postoperatively (3-168 h), vessel density (VD), vessel diameter (VDi), and intersinusoidal space, liver body weight ratio (LBR), hepatic proliferation and biochemical markers were assessed. To further elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms hepatic gene expression was determined by customized cDNA arrays and quantitative RT-PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the VEGF group, VD, VDi, and LBR were significantly increased compared with anti-VEGF or controls. Blockage of endogenous VEGF led to a marked increase of biochemical markers. Anti-VEGF almost completely suppressed and VEGF markedly enhanced hepatic proliferation in the first 24 h after surgery. This was associated with a modulation of cell cycle control genes (PC4, Gadd45a, Tis21/BTG2), v-jun, and CD14 by VEGF.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VEGF plays an important role in liver regeneration and this may be due in part through its effects on neovascularization. Whether it may, when given therapeutically, represent a strategy to optimize liver regeneration in problematic patients needs to be clarified.
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral, and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany. maximilian.bockhorn@uni-essen.de
authors.forename: Maximilian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bockhorn
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goralski
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Prokofiev
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dammann
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grünewald
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trippler
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Biglarnia
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kamler
authors.forename: Eva M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Niehues
authors.forename: Andreja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frilling
authors.forename: Christoph E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Broelsch
authors.forename: Jörg F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Schlaak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006498:Hepatectomy; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000502:physiology; D008115:Liver Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D009929:Organ Size; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A