HUMAN HEPATOCYTE GROWTH-FACTOR IN BILE - AN INDICATOR OF POSTHEPATECTOMY LIVER-FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH BILIARY-TRACT CARCINOMA

We measured the concentration of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in bil e obtained from patients after hepatectomy. The HGF concentrations in the bile samples were quantified using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). By immunoblotting, using a monoclonal antibody raised a gainst the HGF alpha-subunit, the bile HGF, which was purified on a He parin-Sepharose column, showed a band of the same size as the recombin ant HGF alpha-subunit (69 kd). Bile samples were obtained from 24 pati ents with biliary tract disease before and after hepatectomy by means of biliary drainage, Before surgery, the bile HGF concentrations were minimal (0.8 +/- 0.1 ng/mL); however, after hepatectomy on postoperati ve day 1 in patients without posthepatectomy liver failure (20 of 24), they increased severalfold (4.1 +/- 0.4 ng/mL, P < .05). The patients with posthepatectomy liver failure (4 of 24) showed no significant in crease in bile HGF after hepatectomy (less than 2 ng/mL on postoperati ve day 1). The volume of the remnant liver correlated positively with the bile HGF concentration. The bile HGF concentration on postoperativ e day 1 exhibited a ossificans negative correlation with the maximum c oncentration of serum total bilirubin after hepatectomy. The concentra tion of bile HGF was generally higher than that in serum (2.1-fold), T hus, the bile HGF concentration after hepatectomy may be useful for th e early assessment of posthepatectomy liver function.