Advertisement
Research Article Free access | 10.1172/JCI115207
Liver Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK.
Find articles by Strain, A. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar
Liver Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK.
Find articles by Ismail, T. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar
Liver Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK.
Find articles by Tsubouchi, H. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar
Liver Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK.
Find articles by Arakaki, N. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar
Liver Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK.
Find articles by Hishida, T. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar
Liver Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK.
Find articles by Kitamura, N. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar
Liver Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK.
Find articles by Daikuhara, Y. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar
Liver Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK.
Find articles by McMaster, P. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar
Published May 1, 1991 - More info
Human hepatocyte growth factor (hHGF) has recently been expressed as a recombinant polypeptide from Chinese hampster ovary cell transfectants. Using a primary rat hepatocyte bioassay, we have tested the biological activity of recombinant hHGF and compared it with native hHGF. Dose-response curves were almost identical, with half-maximal stimulation of DNA synthesis at 1-2 ng/ml (equivalent to approximately 10 pM). S-phase labeling index was similarly enhanced and numerous mitotic cells were observed. Recombinant and native hHGF also stimulated DNA synthesis and S-phase labeling index in primary adult human hepatocytes. Human cells were more responsive than rat hepatocytes, with recombinant hHGF slightly more potent than native hHGF (half-maximal stimulation 0.3 and 0.6 ng/ml, respectively). Since HGF levels rise in patients with fulminant hepatic failure and in animals after partial hepatectomy or administration of hepatotoxins, situations where liver regeneration occurs, HGF is suggested to play a key role in regulation of hepatic growth. The high potency of the factor on human hepatocytes reinforces its candidacy as a critical mitogen in human liver growth. The availability of a recombinant hHGF opens the way for in vivo experimental studies and to the possibility of using hHGF as a clinical therapeutic agent, either alone or in combination with other factors.
Images.