Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) facilitates liver regeneration after partialhepatectomy in rats

In this study we investigated whether or not liver regeneration is facilita ted by dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) after partial (70%) hepatectomy in rat s. Treatment with DHEA (300 mg / kg body weight) did not cause any signific ant increase in the expression ratio of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in sham-operated controls; however, in partially hepatectomized rats it caused a significant increase in the ratio in hepatocytes 24 and 36 hr after hepatectomy. In partially hepatectomized rats, DHEA treatment signifi cantly accelerated the restoration of liver 48, 60, and 72 hr after partial hepatectomy. The restoration rate in DHEA-treated hepatectomized rats at 7 2 hr was 1.3-fold greater than in partially hepatectomized controls. Treatm ent with androstenedione (300 mg / kg body weight), the first metabolite of DHEA, did not cause any significant increase in the expression of PCNA in either sham-operated controls or partially hepatectomized rats. These resul ts indicate that DHEA itself promotes the liver regenerative process after partial hepatectomy in rats.