Effect of different liver resection methods on liver damage and regeneration factors VEGF and FGF-2 in mice

Durable and efficient gene silencing in vivo by hit-and-run epigenome editing

Permanent epigenetic silencing using programmable editors equipped with transcriptional repressors holds great promise for the treatment of human diseases1-3. However, to unlock its full therapeutic potential, an experimental confirmation of durable epigenetic silencing after the delivery of transient delivery of editors in vivo is needed. To this end, here we targeted Pcsk9, a gene expressed in hepatocytes that is involved in cholesterol homeostasis. In vitro screening of different editor designs indicated that zinc-finger proteins were the best-performing DNA-binding platform for efficient silencing of mouse Pcsk9. A single administration of lipid nanoparticles loaded with the editors' mRNAs almost halved the circulating levels of PCSK9 for nearly one year in mice. Notably, Pcsk9 silencing and accompanying epigenetic repressive marks also persisted after forced liver regeneration, further corroborating the heritability of the newly installed epigenetic state. Improvements in construct design resulted in the development of an all-in-one configuration that we term evolved engineered transcriptional repressor (EvoETR). This design, which is characterized by a high specificity profile, further reduced the circulating levels of PCSK9 in mice with an efficiency comparable with that obtained through conventional gene editing, but without causing DNA breaks. Our study lays the foundation for the development of in vivo therapeutics that are based on epigenetic silencing.

Unveiling the power of microenvironment in liver regeneration: an in-depth overview

The liver serves as a vital regulatory hub for various physiological processes, including sugar, protein, and fat metabolism, coagulation regulation, immune system maintenance, hormone inactivation, urea metabolism, and water-electrolyte acid-base balance control. These functions rely on coordinated communication among different liver cell types, particularly within the liver's fundamental hepatic lobular structure. In the early stages of liver development, diverse liver cells differentiate from stem cells in a carefully orchestrated manner. Despite its susceptibility to damage, the liver possesses a remarkable regenerative capacity, with the hepatic lobule serving as a secure environment for cell division and proliferation during liver regeneration. This regenerative process depends on a complex microenvironment, involving liver resident cells, circulating cells, secreted cytokines, extracellular matrix, and biological forces. While hepatocytes proliferate under varying injury conditions, their sources may vary. It is well-established that hepatocytes with regenerative potential are distributed throughout the hepatic lobules. However, a comprehensive spatiotemporal model of liver regeneration remains elusive, despite recent advancements in genomics, lineage tracing, and microscopic imaging. This review summarizes the spatial distribution of cell gene expression within the regenerative microenvironment and its impact on liver regeneration patterns. It offers valuable insights into understanding the complex process of liver regeneration.

Aberrant regulation of autophagy disturbs fibrotic liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy

Reports indicate that autophagy is essential for maintaining hepatocyte proliferative capacity during liver regeneration. However, the role of autophagy in fibrotic liver regeneration is incompletely elucidated. We investigated the deregulation of autophagic activities in liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy using a CCl4-induced fibrosis mouse model. The baseline autophagic activity was significantly increased in the fibrotic liver. After 50% partial hepatectomy (PHx), liver regeneration was remarkably decreased, accompanied by increased hepatocyte size and binuclearity ratio. Moreover, the expression of autophagy-related proteins was functionally deregulated and resulted in a reduction in the number of autophagosome and autophagosome–lysosome fusions. We further showed upregulation of autophagy activities through verapamil administration, improved hepatocyte proliferation capacity, and restricted cellular hypertrophy and binuclearity ratio. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the impairment of liver regeneration is associated with aberrant autophagy in fibrotic liver and that enhancing autophagy with verapamil may partially restore the impaired liver regeneration following PHx.

Assessing the severity of laparotomy and partial hepatectomy in male rats-A multimodal approach

This study assessed the postoperative severity after three different visceral surgical interventions in rats by using objective parameters pertaining to various disciplines. The objective was to evaluate whether the degree of severity increases with the invasiveness of the intervention and whether this is in accordance with the EU Directive 2010/63. 136 adult male WistarHan rats were assigned to three groups: Sham-laparotomy (Sham) [7 days post-surgical survival time]; 50% partial hepatectomy (PH); 70% PH [PH groups with 1, 3, or 7 days post-surgical survival times]. Post-surgical severity assessment was performed via several multimodal assessment tools: I) model-specific score sheet focusing on body weight, general condition, spontaneous behavior, and the animals' willingness to move as well as on wound healing; II) Open Field tests evaluating the total distance and velocity an animal moved within 10 minutes and its rearing behavior during the test; III) telemetric data analyzing heart rate and blood pressure; and IV) analysis of blood (AST, ALT, and hemogram) and fecal samples (fecal corticosterone metabolites). Significant differences among the experimental groups and models were observed. We demonstrated that the Open Field test can detect significant changes in severity levels. Sham-laparotomy and removal of 50% of the liver mass were associated with comparable severity (mild-moderate); the severity parameters returned to baseline levels within seven days. Removal of 70% of the liver tissue seemed to be associated with a moderate severity grade and entailed a longer recovery period (>7 days) for complete regeneration. We recommend the use of Open Field tests as part of multimodal objective severity assessment.

Extended liver resection in mice: state of the art and pitfalls-a systematic review

Background

Rodent models of liver resection have been used to investigate and evaluate the liver’s complex physiology and pathology since 1931. First documented by Higgins and Anderson, such models were created to understand liver regeneration mechanisms to improve outcomes in patients undergoing extensive liver resection for liver cancer or other underlying liver diseases.

Methods

A systematic search was conducted using Pubmed, gathering publications up to January 2019, which engaged with the mouse model of extended liver resection as a method itself. The results of this search were filtered according to their language, novelty, and relevancy.

Results

The Boolean search found 3741 articles on Pubmed, with 3130 publications remaining when filtered by language and the presence of a full text. In total, 21 of these publications examined the key themes of the animal model described. The mortality varied from 0 to 50% depending on the surgeon's experience and the resection method. The liver resection was mainly performed with classic sutures (14 out of 21 publications) and isoflurane was used for anaesthesia (10 out of 21 publications) in combination with analgesics (buprenorphine or ketamine/xylazine). The most used mouse strain was C57BL/6 (7 of 21 publications) which was on average 11 weeks old with a weight of 23 g.

Conclusion

Through the overview, laid out in the selected publications, this paper reviews the shift of the extended liver resection model from rat to the mouse, describes the state of the art in the experimental setting, and discusses the possible limitations and pitfalls. Clearly, the extended liver resection in mice is a reproducible, practical and easy to learn method.

Human Stem Cells Promote Liver Regeneration After Partial Hepatectomy in BALB/C Nude Mice

BACKGROUND

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been suggested to augment liver regeneration after surgically and pharmacologically induced liver failure. To further investigate this we processed human bone marrow-derived MSC according to good manufacturing practice (GMP) and tested those cells for their modulatory capacities of metabolic alterations and liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in BALB/c nude mice.

METHODS

Human MSCs were obtained by bone marrow aspiration of healthy donors as in a previously described GMP process. Transgenic GFP-MSCs were administered i.p. 24 h after 70% hepatectomy in BALB/c nude mice, whereas control mice received phosphate-buffered saline. Mice were sacrificed 2, 3, and 5 d after partial hepatectomy. Blood and organs were harvested and metabolic alterations as well as liver regeneration subsequently assessed by liver function tests, multianalyte profiling immunoassays, histology, and immunostaining.

RESULTS

Hepatocyte and sinusoidal endothelial cell proliferation were significantly increased after partial hepatectomy in mice receiving MSC compared to control mice (Hepatocyte postoperative day 3, P < 0.01; endothelial cell postoperative day 5, P < 0.05). Hepatocyte fat accumulation correlated inversely with hepatocyte proliferation (r² = 0.4064, P < 0.01) 2 d after partial hepatectomy, with mice receiving MSC being protected from severe fat accumulation. No GFP-positive cells could be detected in the samples. Serum levels of IL-6, HGF, and IL-10 were significantly decreased at day 3 in mice receiving MSC when compared to control mice (P < 0.05). Relative body weight loss was significantly attenuated after partial hepatectomy in mice receiving MSC (2 d and 3 d, both P < 0.001) with a trend toward a faster relative restoration of liver weight, when compared to control mice.

CONCLUSIONS

Human bone marrow-derived MSC attenuate metabolic alterations and improve liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in BALB/c nude mice. Obtained results using GMP-processed human MSC suggest functional links between fat accumulation and hepatocyte proliferation, without any evidence for cellular homing. This study using GMP-proceeded MSC has important regulatory implications for an urgently needed translation into a clinical trial.

The Role of Adipokines in Surgical Procedures Requiring Both Liver Regeneration and Vascular Occlusion

Liver regeneration is a perfectly calibrated mechanism crucial to increase mass recovery of small size grafts from living donor liver transplantation, as well as in other surgical procedures including hepatic resections and liver transplantation from cadaveric donors. Regeneration involves multiple events and pathways in which several adipokines contribute to their orchestration and drive hepatocytes to proliferate. In addition, ischemia-reperfusion injury is a critical factor in hepatic resection and liver transplantation associated with liver failure or graft dysfunction post-surgery. This review aims to summarize the existing knowledge in the role of adipokines in surgical procedures requiring both liver regeneration and vascular occlusion, which increases ischemia-reperfusion injury and regenerative failure. We expose and discuss results in small-for-size liver transplantation and hepatic resections from animal studies focused on the modulation of the main adipokines associated with liver diseases and/or regeneration published in the last five years and analyze future perspectives and their applicability as potential targets to decrease ischemia-reperfusion injury and improve regeneration highlighting marginal states such as steatosis. In our view, adipokines means a promising approach to translate to the bedside to improve the recovery of patients subjected to partial hepatectomy and to increase the availability of organs for transplantation.

Human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells promote recovery of injured HepG2 cell line and show sign of early hepatogenic differentiation

Currently, orthotopic liver transplantation is the gold standard therapy for liver failure. However, it is limited by the insufficient organ donor and risk of immune rejection. Stem cell therapy is a promising alternative treatment for liver failure. One of the most ideal sources of stem cells for regenerative medicine is adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs). In this study, primary ADSCs seeded on cell culture insert were indirectly co-cultured with injured HepG2 to elucidate the role of ADSCs in promoting the recovery of injured HepG2 in non-contact manner. HepG2 recovery was determined by the surface area covered by cells and growth factor concentration was measured to identify the factors involved in regeneration. Besides, HepG2 were collected for q-PCR analysis of injury, hepatocyte functional and regenerative markers expression. For the ADSCs, expression of hepatogenic differentiation genes was analyzed. Results showed that non-contact co-culture with ADSCs helped the recovery of injured HepG2. ELISA quantification revealed that ADSCs secreted higher amount of HGF and VEGF to help the recovery of injured HepG2. Furthermore, HepG2 co-cultured with ADSCs expressed significantly lower injury markers as well as significantly higher regenerative and functional markers compared to the control HepG2. ADSCs co-cultured with injured HepG2 expressed significantly higher hepatic related genes compared to the control ADSCs. In conclusion, ADSCs promote recovery of injured HepG2 via secretion of HGF and VEGF. In addition, co-cultured ADSCs showed early sign of hepatogenic differentiation in response to the factors released or secreted by the injured HepG2.

The Influence of Liver Resection on Intrahepatic Tumor Growth

The high incidence of tumor recurrence after resection of metastatic liver lesions remains an unsolved problem. Small tumor cell deposits, which are not detectable by routine clinical imaging, may be stimulated by hepatic regeneration factors after liver resection. It is not entirely clear, however, which factors are crucial for tumor recurrence. The presented mouse model may be useful to explore the mechanisms that play a role in the development of recurrent malignant lesions after liver resection. The model combines the easy-to-perform and reproducible techniques of defined amounts of liver tissue removal and tumor induction (by injection) in mice. The animals were treated with either a single laparotomy, a 30% liver resection, or a 70% liver resection. All animals subsequently received a tumor cell injection into the remaining liver tissue. After two weeks of observation, the livers and tumors were evaluated for size and weight and examined by immunohistochemistry. After a 70% liver resection, the tumor volume and weight were significantly increased compared to a laparotomy alone (p <0.05). In addition, immunohistochemistry (Ki67) showed an increased tumor proliferation rate in the resection group (p <0.05). These findings demonstrate the influence of hepatic regeneration mechanisms on intrahepatic tumor growth. Combined with methods like histological workup or RNA analysis, the described mouse model could serve as foundation for a close examination of different factors involved in tumor growth and metastatic disease recurrence within the liver. A considerable number of variables like the length of postoperative observation, the cell line used for injection or the timing of injection and liver resection offer multiple angles when exploring a specific question in the context of post-hepatectomy metastases. The limitations of this procedure are the authorization to perform the procedure on animals, access to an appropriate animal testing facility and acquisition of certain equipment.