Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Regenerative biology

Take the brakes off for liver repair

Nature volume 506, pages 299–300 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

A protein produced by endothelial cells that line blood vessels has been found to regulate the timing of cell proliferation following liver injury, further demonstrating the role of vascular signals in tissue regeneration.

The liver's regenerative potential is legendary, and depends on a carefully orchestrated symphony of factors that enable a precise and timely recovery of the liver's metabolic and synthetic functions. The most frequently used model of liver injury is surgical removal of part of the liver, because this allows the regenerative process to be studied without associated inflammation and necrosis. Typically, the vertebrate liver recovers from partial hepatectomy in 5–7 days, and this seems to be the critical time frame within which hepatic function must be regained to enable survival. But how the liver senses injury and initiates and terminates regenerative growth is not fully understood. A role for hepatic blood vessels in regeneration was suggested four decades ago1. Now, writing in Science, Hu et al.2 clarify that role by defining how an angiocrine factor — a signalling molecule produced by the endothelial cells that line the inner surface of blood vessels — is involved in the temporal control of the regenerative process.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Dynamic regulation of angiopoietin 2.

References

  1. Fisher, B., Szuch, P., Levine, M. & Fisher, E. R. Science 171, 575–577 (1971).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Hu, J. et al. Science 343, 416–419 (2014).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Hadem, J. et al. Crit. Care Med. 40, 1499–1505 (2012).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Ding, B.-S. et al. Nature 468, 310–315 (2010).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Ding, B.-S. et al. Nature 505, 97–102 (2014).

    Article  ADS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Daly, C. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 15491–15496 (2006).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. North, T. E. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 107, 17315–17320 (2010).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Panigrahy, D. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 110, 13528–13533 (2013).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Cox, A. G. et al. Cell Rep. 6, 56–69 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Ding, B.-S. et al. Cell 147, 539–553 (2011).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Kobayashi, H. et al. Nat. Cell. Biol. 12, 1046–1056 (2010).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Andrew G. Cox and Wolfram Goessling are in the Genetics and Gastroenterology Divisions, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, 02115 Massachusetts, USA.,

    Andrew G. Cox & Wolfram Goessling

  2. W.G. is also at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.,

    Wolfram Goessling

Authors
  1. Andrew G. Cox
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wolfram Goessling
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wolfram Goessling.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Cox, A., Goessling, W. Take the brakes off for liver repair. Nature 506, 299–300 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/506299a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/506299a

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing