Liver regeneration by inhibiting the inhibitor

Kayseri, Turkey -

Readers of StemCellPatents.com will be familiar with patents describing the inhibition of TGF-beta as a means of stimulating stem cell proliferation. Essentially, it is known in the hematopoietic system at least, that autocrine production of TGF-beta by stem cells keeps them in a quiescent state. Accordingly if you inhibit the inhibitor you have proliferation.

A recent paper (Deneme et al. Single dose of anti-transforming growth factor-beta1 monoclonal antibody enhances liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in biliary-obstructed rats. J Surg Res. 136(2):280-7) describes the possibility that auto-inhibition of stem cells by TGF-beta may not be restricted only to the hematopoietic system.

The scientists performed a partial hepatectomy in a rat model of obstructive jaundice. Animals recieving anti-TGF-beta antibody had a substantially higher level of hepatocyte proliferation, enhanced liver mass, and reduction in AST and ALT as compared to animals that recieved control antibody.

This study suggests that it may be worthwhile to assess various other stem cell systems outside of the hematopoietic system for the autoinhibition by TGF-beta effect.