Response of Fibronectin to Liver Regeneration After Hepatectomy

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Abstract
The relationship between plasma fibronectin concentration and the regenerative process in liver remnants after hepatectomy was studied in 12 patients and in male Sprague–Dawley rats with and without cirrhosis. Plasma fibronectin levels were reduced immediately after hepatectomy in humans and rats. Patients and rats without cirrhosis displayed preoperative fibronectin levels within 1 mo and 1 wk, respectively, but low fibronectin levels persisted longer in those with cirrhosis. Plasma fibronectin levels correlated well with the degree of hepatic regeneration in the patients with cirrhosis (r = 0.4227; p < 0.05) and without cirrhosis (r = 0.8148; p < 0.001), and also with the percentage of change in liver weight during regeneration in the rat with thioacetamide–induced cirrhosis (r = 0.4905; p < 0.01) or in the rat without cirrhosis (r = 0.6422; p < 0.001). These results suggest that plasma fibronectin is a useful marker for the detection of regenerating liver.(HEPATOLOGY 1990; 11:593:598.)