Direct effects of leptin on gluconeogenesis in rat hepatocytes are equivocal, and model systems from other species have not been extensively explored in assessing the regulation of glucose metabolism by leptin. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to compare the effects of leptin on gluconeogenesis in pig and rat hepatocyte cultures as well as to investigate an underlying mechanism of a...

The localization of surface antigens and the binding activity of two monoclonal antibodies, HAM2 and HAM4, which recognize the rat major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigen class I and the rat hepato-renal antigen respectively, on dissociated (free) hepatocytes was examined by light (LM) and electron microscopy (EM), and by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Fixed hepatocytes, fixed before dissociati...

BACKGROUND The selective proliferation of transplanted hepatocytes with a growth stimulus, such as partial hepatectomy or hepatocyte growth factor, concomitant with hepatic irradiation (HIR), which can suppress proliferation of host hepatocytes, has been reported. We have conducted experiments that focused on less invasive and clinically applicable techniques and progenitor cells. MATERIALS A...

The effects of tea catechins, including (–)-epicatechin (EC), (–)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (–)-epicatechingallate (ECg) or (–)-epigallocatechingallate (EGCg) on the lipid peroxidation induced by either ferrous (Fe), copper (Cu) or vanadium (V ) ions were examined in normal and α-linolenic acid-loaded (LNA-loaded) cultured rat hepatocytes. The order of antioxidative activity was almost similar an...

Although ghrelin has been demonstrated to stimulate energy intake and storage through a central mechanism, its effect on hepatic lipid metabolism remains largely uncharacterized. Ghrelin receptor antagonism or gene deletion significantly decreased obesity-associated hepatic steatosis by suppression of de novo lipogenesis, whereas exogenous ghrelin stimulated lipogenesis, leading to hepatic lipi...

The type III interferon (IFN) receptor is preferentially expressed by epithelial cells. It is made of two subunits: IFNLR1, which is specific to IFN-lambda (IFN-λ) and IL10RB, which is shared by other cytokine receptors. Human hepatocytes express IFNLR1 and respond to IFN-λ. In contrast, the IFN-λ response of the mouse liver is very weak and IFNLR1 expression is hardly detectable in this organ....

Mechanisms of intracellular pH (pHi) regulation were investigated in anoxia-tolerant hepatocytes from goldfish Carassius auratus, and compared to the situation in the anoxia-intolerant hepatocytes from trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Under normoxic conditions, the pHi of goldfish hepatocytes was regulated by a Na(+)/H(+) exchanger and a Na(+)-independent Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchanger, the latter being a...

To understand regulation of transplanted hepatocyte proliferation in the normal liver, we used genetically marked rat or mouse cells. Hosts were subjected to liver injury by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), to liver regeneration by a two-thirds partial hepatectomy, and to hepatocellular DNA synthesis by infusion of hepatocyte growth factor for comparative analysis. Transplanted hepatocytes were doc...

Protein S (PS), mainly synthesized in hepatocytes and endothelial cells, plays a critical role as a cofactor of anticoagulant activated protein C (APC). PS activity is regulated by C4b-binding protein (C4BP), structurally composed of seven α-chains (C4BPα) and a β-chain (C4BPβ). In this paper, based primarily on our previous studies, we review the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced signaling whic...

Under normal homeostatic conditions, hepatocyte renewal is a slow process and complete turnover likely takes at least a year. Studies of hepatocyte regeneration after a two-thirds partial hepatectomy (2/3 PH) have strongly suggested that periportal hepatocytes are the driving force behind regenerative re-population, but recent murine studies have brought greater complexity to the issue. Althoug...