CD56 as a useful marker in the regenerative process of the histological progression of primary biliary cirrhosis

Postoperative peripheral blood monocyte count correlates with postoperative bile leakage in patients with colorectal liver metastases after hepatic resection

PURPOSE

Postoperative bile leakage is one of the most common complications after hepatic surgery. The relationship between the inflammatory response and postoperative bile leakage has not been fully investigated. Therefore, we retrospectively investigated the relation between postoperative peripheral blood monocyte count and bile leakage in patients with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) after elective hepatic resection.

METHODS

The study comprised 105 patients who had undergone hepatic resection for CRLM between January 2000 and March 2012. Perioperative risk factors pertinent to development of bile leakage were investigated using univariate and multivariate analyses.

RESULTS

Bile leakage developed in 9 (8.6 %) of 105 patients. In multivariate analysis, intraoperative fresh frozen plasma (FFP) transfusion (p = 0.009) and lower monocyte count of the peripheral blood on postoperative day 1 (p = 0.038) were found as independent risk factors of bile leakage.

CONCLUSIONS

Postoperative lower monocyte count and intraoperative FFP transfusion were associated with the development of postoperative bile leakage after elective hepatic resection in patients with CRLM.

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells promote hepatic regeneration after partial hepatectomy in rats

OBJECTIVES

Our goal was to study the ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to stimulate liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in rats.

METHODS

MSCs were isolated from bone marrow and cultured in vitro. Their characteristics were analyzed by flow cytometry. After 70% partial hepatectomy, Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: a control group that was injected with saline, animals that received bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) by tail vein injection (the BM-MSC-TV group) and animals that received BM-MSCs by portal vein injection (the BM-MSC-PV group). The injected BM-MSCs were traced by labeling with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, and cell proliferations were determined by immunohistochemical staining with Ki-67 and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine.

RESULTS

After the third passage, the cultured BM-MSCs had a fibroblast-like morphology and expressed high levels of stem cell markers CD29 and CD90. The levels of albumin rose significantly in the BM-MSC-TV and BM-MSC-PV groups compared with the control group. The number of 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole-positive liver cells in the BM-MSC-PV group was significantly higher than in the BM-MSC-TV group. The levels of Ki-67 and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine were significantly higher in the BM-MSC-TV and the BM-MSC-PV groups than in the controls.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, these results indicate that BM-MSC injections enhance liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in rats.

The 140-kD isoform of CD56 (NCAM1) directs the molecular pathogenesis of ischemic cardiomyopathy

Despite recent advances in understanding the relevance of cell adhesion-related signaling in the pathogenesis of ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) in animal models, substantial questions remain unanswered in the human setting. We have previously shown that the neural cell adhesion molecule CD56 [neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM1)] is specifically overexpressed in ICM; it was the aim of the current study to further elucidate the role of CD56 in the pathogenesis of human ICM. We used quantitative real-time PCR and IHC in human ICM and a rat model of coronary obstruction to demonstrate that CD56(140kD), the only extraneuronally expressed NCAM1 isoform with a cytoplasmic protein domain capable of inducing intracellular signaling, is the only up-regulated CD56 isoform in failing cardiomyocytes in human ICM in vivo. In subsequent analyses of the cellular effects of CD56(140kD) overexpression in the development of ICM using differential whole transcriptome expression analyses and functional in vitro cardiomyocyte cell culture assays, we further show that the up-regulation of CD56(140kD) is associated with profound gene expression changes, increased apoptosis, and reduced Ca(2+) signaling in failing human cardiomyocytes. Because apoptosis and Ca(2+)-related sarcomeric dysfunction are molecular hallmarks of ICM in humans, our results provide strong evidence that CD56(140kD) up-regulation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of ICM and may be a target for future immunotherapeutic strategies in the treatment of this common and often fatal disease.

Role of stem cell factor and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in remodeling during liver regeneration

Functional pluripotent characteristics have been observed in specific subpopulations of hepatic cells that express some of the known cholangiocyte markers. Although evidence indicates that specific cytokines, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factors (GM-CSFs), and stem cell factors (SCFs) may be candidate treatments for liver injury, the role of these cytokines in intrahepatic biliary epithelium remodeling is unknown. Thus, our aim was to characterize the specific cytokines that regulate the remodeling potentials of cholangiocytes after 70% partial hepatectomy (PH). The expression of the cytokines and their downstream signaling molecules was studied in rats after 70% PH by immunoblotting and in small and large murine cholangiocyte cultures (SMCCs and LMCCs) by immunocytochemistry and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). There was a significant, stable increase in SCF and GM-CSF levels until 7 days after PH. Real-time PCR analysis revealed significant increases of key remodeling molecules, such as S100 calcium-binding protein A4 (S100A4) and miR-181b, after SCF plus GM-CSF administration in SMCCs. SMCCs produced significant amounts of soluble and bound SCFs and GM-CSFs in response to transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β). When SMCCs were incubated with TGF-β plus anti-SCF+GM-CSF antibodies, there was a significant decrease in S100A4 expression. Furthermore, treatment of SMCCs with SCF+GM-CSF significantly increased matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) messenger RNA as well as miR-181b expression, along with a reduction of metalloproteinase inhibitor 3. Levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, and miR-181b were also up-regulated in rat liver and isolated cholangiocytes after PH.

CONCLUSION

Our data suggest that altered expression of SCF+GM-CSF after PH can contribute to biliary remodeling (e.g., post-transplantation) by functional deregulation of the activity of key signaling intermediates involved in cell expansion and multipotent differentiation.