Background: The role of thyroid hormones and their receptors (TR) during liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy (PH) was studied using genetic and pharmacologic approaches. Roles in liver regeneration have been suggested for T3, but there is no clear evidence distinguishing the contribution of increased amounts of T3 from the modulation by unoccupied TRs.
Methodology/principal findings: Mice lacking TRalpha1/TRbeta or TRbeta alone fully regenerated liver mass after PH, but showed delayed commitment to the initial round of hepatocyte proliferation and transient but intense apoptosis at 48h post-PH, affecting approximately 30% of the remaining hepatocytes. Pharmacologically induced hypothyroidism yielded similar results. Loss of TR activity was associated with enhanced nitrosative stress in the liver remnant, due to an increase in the activity of the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) 2 and 3, caused by a transient decrease in the concentration of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), a potent NOS inhibitor. This decrease in the ADMA levels was due to the presence of a higher activity of dimethylarginineaminohydrolase-1 (DDAH-1) in the regenerating liver of animals lacking TRalpha1/TRbeta or TRbeta. DDAH-1 expression and activity was paralleled by the activity of FXR, a transcription factor involved in liver regeneration and up-regulated in the absence of TR.
Conclusions/significance: We report that TRs are not required for liver regeneration; however, hypothyroid mice and TRbeta- or TRalpha1/TRbeta-deficient mice exhibit a delay in the restoration of liver mass, suggesting a specific role for TRbeta in liver regeneration. Altered regenerative responses are related with a delay in the expression of cyclins D1 and E, and the occurrence of liver apoptosis in the absence of activated TRbeta that can be prevented by administration of NOS inhibitors. Taken together, these results indicate that TRbeta contributes significantly to the rapid initial round of hepatocyte proliferation following PH, and improves the survival of the regenerating liver at later times.