Background and methods: Acute liver failure after massive hepatectomy remains a challenging problem. In this study, using a microarray designed to monitor the side effects of drugs, we examined changes in gene expression in the remnant liver during the 24 h after hepatectomy and the effects of a nontoxic heat shock protein (HSP) 70 inducer, geranylgeranylacetone (GGA), after 90% hepatectomy in rats.
Results: A single oral administration of 100 mg/kg GGA significantly suppressed the release of aminotransferases and improved survival compared with vehicle administration. The hepatectomy upregulated 74 genes and downregulated 95. Interestingly, ten cytokine genes were upregulated, while no cytokine-related gene was downregulated. Among the ten cytokine genes, a potent chemoattractant for neutrophils, GRO1, was most rapidly and markedly upregulated after 90% hepatectomy. GGA effectively suppressed the up-regulation of GRO1 messenger ribonucleic acid, and this was validated by Northern hybridization. Microarray and immunoblot analyses showed that, in addition to HSP70 and HSP27, GGA preferentially induced an endoplasmic reticulum chaperone, BIP.
Conclusion: Considering hemodynamic and metabolic overloading as a primary cause of acute lever failure, the ER stress response enhanced by GGA may also play an important role in the prevention of overload-induced liver damage.