scholarly journals Role of vasodilation in liver regeneration and health

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Große-Segerath ◽  
Eckhard Lammert

Abstract Recently, we have shown that an enhanced blood flow through the liver triggers hepatocyte proliferation and thereby liver growth. In this review, we first explain the literature on hepatic blood flow and its changes after partial hepatectomy (PHx), before we present the different steps of liver regeneration that take place right after the initial hemodynamic changes induced by PHx. Those parts of the molecular mechanisms governing liver regeneration, which are directly associated with the hepatic vascular system, are subsequently reviewed. These include β1 integrin-dependent mechanotransduction in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), triggering mechanically-induced activation of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 (VEGFR3) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) as well as release of growth-promoting angiocrine signals. Finally, we speculate how advanced age and obesity negatively affect the hepatic vasculature and thus liver regeneration and health, and we conclude our review with some recent technical progress in the clinic that employs liver perfusion. In sum, the mechano-elastic properties and alterations of the hepatic vasculature are key to better understand and influence liver health, regeneration, and disease.

Author(s):  
Manon Allaire ◽  
Hélène Gilgenkrantz

Abstract Alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases are the leading causes of cirrhosis in Western countries. These chronic liver diseases share common pathological features ranging from steatosis to steatohepatitis. Fatty liver is associated with primary liver graft dysfunction, a higher incidence of complications/mortality after surgery, in correlation with impaired liver regeneration. Liver regeneration is a multistep process including a priming phase under the control of cytokines followed by a growth factor receptor activation phase leading to hepatocyte proliferation. This process ends when the initial liver mass is restored. Deficiency in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) liver expression, reduced expression of Wee1 and Myt1 kinases, oxidative stress and alteration in hepatocyte macroautophagy have been identified as mechanisms involved in the defective regeneration of fatty livers. Besides the mechanisms, we will also discuss in this review various treatments that have been investigated in the reversal of the regeneration defect, for example, omega-3 fatty acids, pioglitazone, fibroblast growth factor (FGF)19-based chimeric molecule or growth hormone (GH). Since dysbiosis impedes liver regeneration, targeting microbiota could also be an interesting therapeutic approach.


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Meyer ◽  
Alexandre Balaphas ◽  
Pierre Fontana ◽  
Philippe Morel ◽  
Simon C. Robson ◽  
...  

(1) Background: Platelets were postulated to constitute the trigger of liver regeneration. The aim of this study was to dissect the cellular interactions between the various liver cells involved in liver regeneration and to clarify the role of platelets. (2) Methods: Primary mouse liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) were co-incubated with increasing numbers of resting platelets, activated platelets, or platelet releasates. Alterations in the secretion of growth factors were measured. The active fractions of platelet releasates were characterized and their effects on hepatocyte proliferation assessed. Finally, conditioned media of LSECs exposed to platelets were added to primary hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Secretion of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and hepatocyte proliferation were measured. After partial hepatectomy in mice, platelet and liver sinusoidal endothelial cell (LSEC) interactions were analyzed in vivo by confocal microscopy, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and HGF levels were determined. (3) Results: Co-incubation of increasing numbers of platelets with LSECs resulted in enhanced IL-6 secretion by LSECs. The effect was mediated by the platelet releasate, notably a thermolabile soluble factor with a molecular weight over 100 kDa. The conditioned medium of LSECs exposed to platelets did not increase proliferation of primary hepatocytes when compared to LSECs alone but stimulated hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) secretion by HSCs, which led to hepatocyte proliferation. Following partial hepatectomy, in vivo adhesion of platelets to LSECs was significantly increased when compared to sham-operated mice. Clopidogrel inhibited HGF secretion after partial hepatectomy. (4) Conclusion: Our findings indicate that platelets interact with LSECs after partial hepatectomy and activate them to release a large molecule of protein nature, which constitutes the initial trigger for liver regeneration.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacquelyn O. Russell ◽  
Sungjin Ko ◽  
Satdarshan P. Monga ◽  
Donghun Shin

Liver regeneration after most forms of injury is mediated through the proliferation of hepatocytes. However, when hepatocyte proliferation is impaired, such as during chronic liver disease, liver progenitor cells (LPCs) arising from the biliary epithelial cell (BEC) compartment can give rise to hepatocytes to mediate hepatic repair. Promotion of LPC-to-hepatocyte differentiation in patients with chronic liver disease could serve as a potentially new therapeutic option, but first requires the identification of the molecular mechanisms driving this process. Notch signaling has been identified as an important signaling pathway promoting the BEC fate during development and has also been implicated in regulating LPC differentiation during regeneration. SRY-related HMG box transcription factor 9 (Sox9) is a direct target of Notch signaling in the liver, and Sox9 has also been shown to promote the BEC fate during development. We have recently shown in a zebrafish model of LPC-driven liver regeneration that inhibition of Hdac1 activity through MS-275 treatment enhances sox9b expression in LPCs and impairs LPC-to-hepatocyte differentiation. Therefore, we hypothesized that inhibition of Notch signaling would promote LPC-to-hepatocyte differentiation by repressing sox9b expression in zebrafish. We ablated the hepatocytes of Tg(fabp10a:CFP-NTR) larvae and blocked Notch activation during liver regeneration through treatment with γ-secretase inhibitor LY411575 and demonstrated enhanced induction of Hnf4a in LPCs. Alternatively, enhancing Notch signaling via Notch3 intracellular domain (N3ICD) overexpression impaired Hnf4a induction. Hepatocyte ablation in sox9b heterozygous mutant embryos enhanced Hnf4a induction, while BEC-specific Sox9b overexpression impaired LPC-to-hepatocyte differentiation. Our results establish the Notch-Sox9b signaling axis as inhibitory to LPC-to-hepatocyte differentiation in a well-established in vivo LPC-driven liver regeneration model.


2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali-Reza Biglarnia ◽  
Tomas Lorant ◽  
Hyon-Soek Lee ◽  
Gunnar Tufveson ◽  
Martin Tötsch ◽  
...  

Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 260
Author(s):  
Lianne R. de Haan ◽  
Joanne Verheij ◽  
Rowan F. van Golen ◽  
Verena Horneffer-van der Sluis ◽  
Matthew R. Lewis ◽  
...  

In a previous study, obeticholic acid (OCA) increased liver growth before partial hepatectomy (PHx) in rats through the bile acid receptor farnesoid X-receptor (FXR). In that model, OCA was administered during obstructive cholestasis. However, patients normally undergo PHx several days after biliary drainage. The effects of OCA on liver regeneration were therefore studied in post-cholestatic Wistar rats. Rats underwent sham surgery or reversible bile duct ligation (rBDL), which was relieved after 7 days. PHx was performed one day after restoration of bile flow. Rats received 10 mg/kg OCA per day or were fed vehicle from restoration of bile flow until sacrifice 5 days after PHx. Liver regeneration was comparable between cholestatic and non-cholestatic livers in PHx-subjected rats, which paralleled liver regeneration a human validation cohort. OCA treatment induced ileal Fgf15 mRNA expression but did not enhance post-PHx hepatocyte proliferation through FXR/SHP signaling. OCA treatment neither increased mitosis rates nor recovery of liver weight after PHx but accelerated liver regrowth in rats that had not been subjected to rBDL. OCA did not increase biliary injury. Conclusively, OCA does not induce liver regeneration in post-cholestatic rats and does not exacerbate biliary damage that results from cholestasis. This study challenges the previously reported beneficial effects of OCA in liver regeneration in cholestatic rats.


2013 ◽  
Vol 305 (7) ◽  
pp. R720-R726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bibiana Moreno-Carranza ◽  
Maite Goya-Arce ◽  
Claudia Vega ◽  
Norma Adán ◽  
Jakob Triebel ◽  
...  

Prolactin (PRL) is a potent liver mitogen and proangiogenic hormone. Here, we used hyperprolactinemic rats and PRL receptor-null mice (PRLR−/−) to study the effect of PRL on liver growth and angiogenesis before and after partial hepatectomy (PH). Liver-to-body weight ratio (LBW), hepatocyte and sinusoidal endothelial cell (SEC) proliferation, and hepatic expression of VEGF were measured before and after PH in hyperprolactinemic rats, generated by placing two anterior pituitary glands (AP) under the kidney capsule. Also, LBW and hepatic expression of IL-6, as well as suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS-3), were evaluated in wild-type and PRLR−/−mice before and after PH. Hyperprolactinemia increased the LBW, the proliferation of hepatocytes and SECs, and VEGF hepatic expression. Also, liver regeneration was increased in AP-grafted rats and was accompanied by elevated hepatocyte and SEC proliferation, and VEGF expression compared with nongrafted controls. Lowering circulating PRL levels with CB-154, an inhibitor of AP PRL secretion, prevented AP-induced stimulation of liver growth. Relative to wild-type animals, PRLR−/−mice had smaller livers, and soon after PH, they displayed an approximately twofold increased mortality and elevated and reduced hepatic IL-6 and SOCS-3 expression, respectively. However, liver regeneration was improved in surviving PRLR−/−mice. PRL stimulates normal liver growth, promotes survival, and regulates liver regeneration by mechanisms that may include hepatic downregulation of IL-6 and upregulation of SOCS-3, increased hepatocyte proliferation, and angiogenesis. PRL contributes to physiological liver growth and has potential clinical utility for ensuring survival and regulating liver mass in diseases, injuries, or surgery of the liver.


2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 615-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyu Chen ◽  
Yingying Zhao ◽  
Fei Wang ◽  
Yihua Bei ◽  
Junjie Xiao ◽  
...  

Liver maintains a unique tremendous regeneration capacity in response to partial hepatectomy (PH) or injury. Hepatocyte proliferation critically contributes to the process of liver regeneration (LR), which is regulated by various cytokines and growth factors. However, the molecular basis of LR remains unclear. Emerging evidence indicates that microRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) are involved in controlling hepatocyte proliferation during LR. In this review, an overview is provided to cover recent achievements in studies on the roles of miRNAs in LR. Studies on the regulatory effects of miRNAs and associated molecular mechanisms in LR will help enhance the understanding of the regenerative process and open up a new prospect for liver transplantation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 250-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Wang ◽  
Yihua Bei ◽  
Yingying Zhao ◽  
Yang Song ◽  
Junjie Xiao ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: We previously documented the presence of Telocytes (TCs) in liver and further indicated the potential roles of TCs in liver regeneration after hepatectomy. Pregnancy-induced liver growth, other than liver regeneration after hepatectomy, is a physiological hepatic adaption to meet the enhanced nutritional and metabolic demands. However, the possible roles of TCs in pregnancy-induced liver growth remain unknown. Methods: Pregnant mice were sacrificed at different time points (pregnancy day 0.5, 4.5, 8.5, 10.5, 12.5, 14.5, 16.5, and 18.5). The liver weight was used to evaluate the liver growth during pregnancy. Hepatocytes proliferation was determined by albumin and 5-ethynyl-2'- deoxyuridine (EdU) double immunostaining while TCs were counted by double immunolabeling for CD34/PDGFR-α. Results: Pregnancy-induced liver growth was preceded by increased proliferation of hepatocytes at pregnancy day 4.5, 8.5, 14.5 and 16.5. Furthermore, the number of TCs in liver detected by double immunolabeling for CD34/PDGFR-α was significantly increased at pregnancy day 4.5 and day 14.5, that was coincident with the occurrence of two peaks of hepatic cell proliferation during pregnancy. Conclusion: Our results suggest a possible relationship between TCs and hepatocyte proliferation in pregnancy-induced liver growth.


2007 ◽  
Vol 148 (15) ◽  
pp. 697-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianna Murányi ◽  
Zsombor Lacza

It is now known that astrocytes are not merely supporting cells but they also play an important role in neuronal funcions. Astrocytes tightly ensheat neuronal synapses and regulate the excitation of neurons by uptaking neurotransmitters; reglulate the cerebral blood flow, cerebral fluid volume and extracellular concentrations of ions. They also supply fuel in the form of lactate and provide free radical scavangers such as glutathione for active neurons. These facts indicate that impaired function of astrocytes may lead to neuronal dysfunction. After brain injury (stroke, trauma or tumors) astrocytes are swollen and release active molecules such as glutamate or free radicals resulting in neuronal dysfunction. Thus, investigation of the molecular mechanisms of astrocyte function may reveal novel targets for the development of therapeutic tools in neuronal diseases.


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