NITRIC-OXIDE PRODUCTION BY CELLS ISOLATED FROM REGENERATING RAT-LIVER

Nitric oxide (NO) production by cells of the regenerating liver was es timated from the amount of nitrite accumulated during 24 h in the cult ure media of hepatocytes, Kupffer cells and sinusoidal endothelial cel ls isolated at different times after partial hepatectomy (PHE). The ti me course of NO production was compared with the course of the prolife rating activity of the same cells. During the time when liver cells pa ss through their first cell cycles, hepatocytes were the main producer s of NO in the liver. The time-dependent changes of their NO productio n corresponded to those obtained with the whole liver and were inverse ly correlated with the DNA-synthesizing activity. The NO production by Kupffer and endothelial cells followed that by hepatocytes in this or der; the time displacement between them corresponded to the schedule o f their proliferating activity. The NO synthesis in non-parenchymal ce lls fluctuated in a similar way as in parenchymal cells and was minima l when DNA synthesis was manifest. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.