Relevance of Rat Liver Regeneration with the Genes of Chondrocyte Genesis and Differentiation

Liver contains many cell types. Liver regeneration is closely related to cell differentiation, which is regulated by some genes. To investigate the actions of the genes participating in chondrocyte genesis and differentiation on rat liver regeneration at transcriptional level, the aforementioned genes were screened out via collecting database data and retrieving the related thesis. The Rat Genome 230 2.0 array was applied to the measurement of expression changes of them in rat regenerating liver. The liver regeneration-associated genes were determined by comparing differences in gene expression between partial hepatectomy (PH) and sham operation (SO). It was 23 among the above genes that were related to liver regeneration. In initiation phase of liver regeneration (0.5~4h after PH), G0/G1 (4~6h after PH), cell proliferation (6~66h after PH), cell differentiation and liver tissue structure-function reconstruction (72~168h after PH), the initially expressed associated-genes respectively numbered 15, 4, 8, 0, and the total expression times of the genes were in a sequence 28, 17, 10336, illustrating that the genes initiated to express dominantly in initial phase (0.5~4h), and took effect in various phases. Their total times of up and down-regulated expression 100 and 77 respectively, and expression patterns were divided into 17 kinds, indicating the multiformity and intricacy of genes related to chondrocyte genesis and differentiation activities during liver regeneration. The results showed that the above genes not only regulate the chondrocyte genesis and differentiation, but also participate in the physiological and biochemical activities during liver regeneration.