Following most cases of partial hepatectomy the remnant liver regenerates until normal hepatic mass is reestablished. However the specific factors involved in this complex regulatory phenomenon remain to be completely defined.
Colletti and colleagues demonstrate that hepatic SCF levels change dramatically following partial hepatectomy in mice, and that SCF blockade, either by administration of anti-SCF antibodies or by using genetically altered, SCF-deficient mice, inhibits hepatocyte proliferation. Furthermore, SCF administration in SCF-deficient mice was shown to restore hepatocyte proliferation to normal and this effect occurs via an IL-6–mediated pathway.
Colletti and colleagues suggest that while hepatic homeostasis and regeneration likely involves multiple complex mechanisms and pathways, their current report indicates that SCF plays a significant role in maintaining and reestablishing the health of the liver.
TITLE: Stem cell factor restores hepatocyte proliferation in IL-6 knockout mice following 70% hepatectomy
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Lisa Colletti
University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Phone: 734-936-7944
Fax: 734-936-5930
E-mail: colletti@umich.edu
View the PDF of this article at: http://www.jci.org/cgi/content/full/112/9/1407
Journal of Clinical Investigation