Ags administered orally at a high dose are absorbed in immunogenic forms and perfuse the liver, which raises a question regarding the relevance of hepatic lymphocyte activation to the systemic hyporesponsiveness against the ingested Ag. Oral administration of 100 mg of OVA to the mice led to massive cell death of OVA-specific (KJ1-26+)CD4+ T cells by Fas-Fas ligand (FasL)-mediated apoptosis in ...

Elucidating the molecular mechanisms involved in the differentiation of stem cells to hepatic cells is critical for both understanding normal developmental processes as well as for optimizing the generation of functional hepatic cells for therapy. We performed in vitro differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) with a null mutation in the homeobox gene Hhex and show that Hhex(-/-) mE...

With recent advances in cancer stem cell analysis, it has been postulated that the transformation of hepatic stem and progenitor cells underlies the development of certain liver cancers. Human C-KIT is a transmembrane type III receptor protein with intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity that has been proposed as a marker for human embryonic stem cells. In addition, human C-KIT functions in maintain...

BACKGROUND: Hepatic natural killer (NK) cells, the most cytotoxic cells of the natural occurring NK cells, are located in the liver sinusoids and are thus in a strategic position to kill arriving metastasising tumour cells, like colon carcinoma cells. It is known that major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I on tumour cells negatively regulates NK cell-mediated cytolysis, but this is foun...

During infection with the helminth parasite Schistosoma mansoni, Ab regulates hepatic inflammation, and local production of Ig in the liver appears to play a role in this process. Exploring the development of the B cell response during infection, we found that parasite-specific IgG1-secreting plasma cells appeared first in the hepatic and mesenteric lymph nodes (LNs) and then at later times in ...

1. Hepatic stellate cells are key mediators of hepatic fibrosis. We have studied hepatic stellate cell expression of the collagenase and general protease inhibitor alpha2-macroglobulin after activation in tissue culture and in response to certain cytokines. 2. Hepatic stellate cells isolated by Pronase-collagenase digestion were activated by culture on uncoated plastic. By Northern analysis hep...

Many hepatoprotective herbal preparations have been recommended in alternative systems of medicine for the treatment of hepatic disorders. No systematic study has been done on protective efficacy of Capparis spinosa (Capparidaceae) to treat hepatic diseases. Protective action of C. spinosa ethanolic root bark extract was evaluated in this study in an animal model of hepatotoxicity, which was in...