Role of stem cell factor and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in remodeling during liver regeneration

Functional pluripotent characteristics have been observed in specific subpopulations of hepatic cells that express some of the known cholangiocyte markers. Although evidence indicates that specific cytokines, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factors (GM-CSF) and stem cell factor (SCF) may be candidate treatments for liver injury, the role of these cytokines in intrahepatic biliary epithelium remodeling is unknown. Thus, our aim was to characterize the specific cytokines that regulate the remodeling potentials of cholangiocytes after 70% partial hepatectomy (PH). The expression of the cytokines and their downstream signaling molecules was studied in rats after 70% PH by immunoblots, and in small and large murine cholangiocyte cultures (SMCCs and LMCCs) by immunocytochemistry and real-time PCR. There was a significant and stable increase in SCF and GM-CSF levels until 7 days after PH. Real-time PCR analysis revealed significant increases of key remodeling molecules, such as S100A4 and miR-181b after SCF plus GM-CSF administration in SMCCs. SMCCs produced significant amounts of soluble and bound SCF and GM-CSF in response to TGF-β. When SMCCs were incubated with TGF-β plus anti–SCF and GM-CSF antibodies, there was a significant decrease in S100A4 expression. Furthermore, treatment of SMCCs with SCF + GM-CSF significantly increased matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) mRNA as well as miR-181b expression along with a reduction of metalloproteinase inhibitor 3 (TIMP-3). The levels of MMP-2, MMP-9 and miR-181b were also up-regulated in rat liver and isolated cholangiocytes after PH