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The normal mechanisms of pregnancy-induced liver growth are not maintained in mice lacking the bile acid sensor Fxr.

ABSTRACT: Rodents undergo gestational hepatomegaly to meet the increased metabolic demands on the maternal liver during pregnancy. This is an important physiological process, but the mechanisms and signals driving pregnancy-induced liver growth are not known. Here, we show that liver growth during pregnancy precedes maternal body weight gain, is proportional to fetal number, and is a result of hepatocyte hypertrophy associated with cell-cycle progression, polyploidy, and altered expression of cell-cycle regulators p53, Cyclin-D1, and p27. Because circulating reproductive hormones and bile acids are raised in normal pregnant women and can cause liver growth in rodents, these compounds are candidates for the signal driving gestational liver enlargement in rodents. Administration of pregnancy levels of reproductive hormones was not sufficient to cause liver growth, but mouse pregnancy was associated with increased serum bile acid levels. It is known that the bile acid sensor Fxr is required for normal recovery from partial hepatectomy, and we demonstrate that Fxr(-/-) mice undergo gestational liver growth by adaptive hepatocyte hyperplasia. This is the first identification of any component that is required to maintain the normal mechanisms of gestational hepatomegaly and also implicates Fxr in a physiologically normal process that involves control of the hepatocyte cell cycle. Understanding pregnancy-induced hepatocyte hypertrophy in mice could suggest mechanisms for safely increasing functional liver capacity in women during increased metabolic demand.

SUBMITTER: Milona A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2822506 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The normal mechanisms of pregnancy-induced liver growth are not maintained in mice lacking the bile acid sensor Fxr.

Milona Alexandra A Owen Bryn M BM van Mil Saskia S Dormann Dirk D Mataki Chikage C Boudjelal Mohamed M Cairns William W Schoonjans Kristina K Milligan Stuart S Parker Malcolm M White Roger R Williamson Catherine C

American journal of physiology. Gastrointestinal and liver physiology 20091008 2

Rodents undergo gestational hepatomegaly to meet the increased metabolic demands on the maternal liver during pregnancy. This is an important physiological process, but the mechanisms and signals driving pregnancy-induced liver growth are not known. Here, we show that liver growth during pregnancy precedes maternal body weight gain, is proportional to fetal number, and is a result of hepatocyte hypertrophy associated with cell-cycle progression, polyploidy, and altered expression of cell-cycle r ...[more]

PMID: 19815629

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Project description:BackgroundAlthough human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related morbidity and mortality rates in patients treated with a combination of high active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) have declined, significant metabolic/vascular adverse effects associated with the long term use of HIV protease inhibitors (PIs) have emerged as a significant side effect. Here we illustrate that targeting the bile acid sensor farnesoid X receptor (FXR) protects against dyslipidemia and vascular injury induced HIV-PIs in rodents.Methodology/principal findingsAdministration of the HIV PI ritonavir to wild type mice increased plasma triacylglycerols and cholesterol levels and this effect was exacerbated by dosing ritonavir to mice harbouring a disrupted FXR. Dyslipidemia induced by ritonavir associated with a shift in the liver expression of signature genes, Sterol Regulatory Element-Binding Protein (SREBP)-1 and fatty acid synthase. Treating wild type mice with the FXR agonist (chenodeoxycholic acid, CDCA) protected against development of dyslipidemia induced by ritonavir. Administration of ritonavir to ApoE(-/-) mice, a strain that develop spontaneously atherosclerosis, increased the extent of aortic plaques without worsening the dyslipidemia. Treating these mice with CDCA reduced the extent of aortic plaques by 70% without changing plasma lipoproteins or the liver expression of signature genes. A beneficial effect on aortic plaques was also obtained by treating ApoE(-/-) mice with gemfibrozil, a PPARα agonist. FXR activation counter-regulated induction of expression/activity of CD36 caused by HIV-PIs in circulating monocytes and aortic plaques. In macrophages cell lines, CDCA attenuated CD36 induction and uptake of acetylated LDL caused by ritonavir. Natural and synthetic FXR ligands reduced the nuclear translocation of SREBP1c caused by ritonavir.Conclusions/significanceActivation of the bile acid sensor FXR protects against dyslipidemia and atherosclerotic caused by ritonavir, a widely used HIV PI. From a mechanistic stand point it appears that besides reducing the liver expression of genes involved in fatty acid synthesis, FXR activation counter-regulates the expression/activity of CD36 on monocytes. FXR ligands might hold promise in the treatment dyslipidemia induced by ritonavir.

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The normal mechanisms of pregnancy-induced liver growth are not maintained in mice lacking the bile acid sensor Fxr.

Publications

The normal mechanisms of pregnancy-induced liver growth are not maintained in mice lacking the bile acid sensor Fxr.

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