Plock, Jan; Frese, Steffen; Keogh, Adrian; Bisch-Knaden, Sonja; Ayuni, Erick; Corazza, Nadia; Weikert, Christian; Jakob, Stephan; Erni, Dominique; Dufour, Jean-François; Brunner, Thomas; Candinas, Daniel; Stroka, Deborah (2007). Activation of non-ischemic, hypoxia-inducible signalling pathways up-regulate cytoprotective genes in the murine liver. Journal of hepatology, 47(4), pp. 538-45. Amsterdam: Elsevier 10.1016/j.jhep.2007.04.016
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)BACKGROUND/AIMS: We investigated the molecular response of a non-ischemic hypoxic stress in the liver, in particular, to distinguish its hepatoprotective potential. METHODS: The livers of mice were subjected to non-ischemic hypoxia by clamping the hepatic-artery (HA) for 2h while maintaining portal circulation. Hypoxia was defined by a decrease in oxygen saturation, the activation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 and the mRNA up-regulation of responsive genes. To demonstrate that the molecular response to hypoxia may in part be hepatoprotective, pre-conditioned animals were injected with an antibody against Fas (Jo2) to induce acute liver failure. Hepatocyte apoptosis was monitored by caspase-3 activity, cleavage of lamin A and animal survival. RESULTS: Clamping the HA induced a hypoxic stress in the liver in the absence of severe metabolic distress or tissue damage. The hypoxic stimulus was sufficient to activate the HIF-1 signalling pathway and up-regulate hepatoprotective genes. Pre-conditioning the liver with hypoxia was able to delay the onset of Fas-mediated apoptosis and prolong animal survival. CONCLUSIONS: Our data reveal that hepatic cells can sense and respond to a decrease in tissue oxygenation, and furthermore, that activation of hypoxia-inducible signalling pathways function in part to promote liver cell survival.
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