Reduction in bile acid pool causes delayed liver regeneration accompanied by down-regulated expression of FXR and c-Jun mRNA in rats.

The present study attempted to examine the effects of bile acid pool size on liver regeneration after hepatectomy. The rats were fed on 0.2% cholic acid (CA) or 2% cholestyramine for 7 days to induce a change in the bile acid size, and then a partial hepatectomy (PH) was performed. Rats fed on the normal diet served as the controls. Measurements were made on the rate of liver regeneration, the labeling indices of PCNA, the plasma total bile acids (TBA), and the mRNA expression of cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase (CYP7A1), farnesoid X receptor (FXR), and transcription factor c-Jun or c-fos. As compared with the normal and CA groups, the rate of liver regeneration was decreased on the day 3, and 7 after PH; the peak of the labeling indices of PCNA was delayed and the labeling indices were significantly reduced on the day 1; the TBA were also decreased on the day 1; the expression of FXR decreased but that of CYP7A1 increased at any given time; at the 1st, and 3rd h, the expression of c-Jun was declined in the cholestyramine group. The reduction in the bile acid pool size was found to delay the liver regeneration, which may be caused by the down-regulation of FXR and c-Jun expression.