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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
1996-12-4
pubmed:abstractText
The Long-Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rat is characterized by the spontaneous onset of acute and chronic hepatitis, followed by occurrence of liver cancer, and is thus able to provide a unique experimental model for human genetical liver disease, Wilson's disease. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a potent hepatotrophic factor in liver regeneration, and its expression is up-regulated in response to liver injuries. We found that the plasma HGF level in LEC rats rose markedly during the fulminant hepatitis phase, fell during the phase of chronic/cholangiofibrosis, and fluctuated during the hepatoma phase. Immunohistological staining of the liver revealed that the number of HGF-positive cells increased remarkably during the fulminant hepatitis phase, and that many of these cells were localized at the portal triads. Fewer HGF-positive cells were observed during the phase of chronic hepatitis. The surface of the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and the cytoplasm of the nonepithelial cells in cancerous liver tissues were HGF-positive. The HGF-messenger RNA (mRNA) level in the liver rose in the fulminant hepatitis phase, fell in the chronic hepatitis phase, and was intermediate or high during the hepatoma phase. The expression of c-met mRNA was strong in the tissues of LEC rats with fulminant hepatitis and, especially, in the cholangiofibrosis tissues. c-met mRNA was also detected in HCCs. These results suggest that the HGF-c-met system may play an important role in the regeneration of hepatocytes as well as in the development of HCC in paracrine or autocrine mechanisms.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Sep
pubmed:issn
0270-9139
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
24
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
596-602
pubmed:dateRevised
2009-11-19
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1996
pubmed:articleTitle
Hepatocyte growth factor and c-met expression in Long-Evans Cinnamon rats with spontaneous hepatitis and hepatoma.
pubmed:affiliation
Laboratory of Cell Biology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't