title: Interleukin-22 contributes to liver regeneration in mice with concanavalin A-induced hepatitis after hepatectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of interleukin (IL)-22 in liver regeneration in mice with concanavalin A (ConA)-induced liver injury following 70% hepatectomy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mice were injected intravenously with ConA at 10 μg/g body weight 4 d before 70% hepatectomy to create a hepatitis model, and recombinant IL-22 was injected at 0.125 μg/g body weight 30 min prior to 70% hepatectomy to create a therapy model. Control animals received an intravenous injection of an identical volume of normal saline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  IL-22 treatment prior to 70% hepatectomy performed under general anesthesia resulted in reductions in the biochemical and histological evidence of liver injury, earlier proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression and accelerated recovery of liver mass. IL-22 pretreatment also significantly induced signal transducer and activator of transcription factor 3 (STAT3) activation and increased the expression of a variety of mitogenic proteins, such as Cyclin D1. Furthermore, alpha fetal protein mRNA expression was significantly elevated after IL-22 treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, we demonstrated that IL-22 is a survival factor for hepatocytes and prevents and repairs liver injury by enhancing pro-growth pathways via STAT3 activation. Treatment with IL-22 protein may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for preventing liver injury in patients with liver disease who have undergone hepatectomy.
authors.affiliation: Ya-Min Zhang, Zi-Lin Cui, Long Yang, Yang Li, Zhong-Yang Shen, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, China.
authors.forename: Ya-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Ya-Min Zhang, Zi-Lin Cui, Long Yang, Yang Li, Zhong-Yang Shen, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, China.
authors.forename: Zi-Rong
authors.initials: ZR
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Ya-Min Zhang, Zi-Lin Cui, Long Yang, Yang Li, Zhong-Yang Shen, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, China.
authors.forename: Zi-Lin
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Ya-Min Zhang, Zi-Lin Cui, Long Yang, Yang Li, Zhong-Yang Shen, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Ya-Min Zhang, Zi-Lin Cui, Long Yang, Yang Li, Zhong-Yang Shen, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, China.
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Ya-Min Zhang, Zi-Lin Cui, Long Yang, Yang Li, Zhong-Yang Shen, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Ya-Min Zhang, Zi-Lin Cui, Long Yang, Yang Li, Zhong-Yang Shen, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, China.
authors.forename: Zhong-Yang
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003208:Concanavalin A; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006498:Hepatectomy; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D007378:Interleukins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008115:Liver Regeneration; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013997:Time Factors; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D000097043:Interleukin-22
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D003208:Concanavalin A; D007378:Interleukins; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; D000097043:Interleukin-22; C494087:Stat3 protein, mouse
keywords: Concanavalin A; Interleukin-22; Liver regeneration; Partial hepatectomy