www.karger.com Letter to the Editor Digestion 2010;82:262–264 DOI: 10.1159/000297544 Glycochenodeoxycholate-Induced Apoptosis Is Not Reduced by Augmenter of Liver Regeneration

a receptor for ALR, that may be important for signal transduction [11]. Furthermore, ALR stimulates the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade [12] , decreases cy-tochrome P450, increases nuclear factor- B activity [13] , induces mRNA levels of pivotal enzymes of polyamine biosynthe-sis and enhances polyamine levels in hu-man hepatocytes [14]. Although the beneficial effects of ALR in liver regeneration are well defined, a protective effect of ALR to reduce liver in-jury is less clear. Cholestasis is a common cause of liver disease and is characterized by an elevation of hepatic levels of hydro