Farnesol inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis after partial hepatectomy in rats
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Updated: Jun 19, 2026
Generation of a Rat Model of Acute Liver Failure by Combining 70% Partial Hepatectomy and Acetaminophen
Published on: November 27, 2019
Carlos Eduardo Andrade Chagas1, Alessandra Vieira, Thomas Prates Ong
1Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, USP, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Purpose:
To study farnesol (FOH) effects on liver regeneration after 70% partial hepatectomy (PH) in rats.
Methods:
Animals received FOH (25 mg/100 g body weight/day) or corn oil (CO, 0.25 mL/100 g body weight/day, controls). After a 2 week-treatment, all animals were subjected to PH and euthanized at different time points (0 h, 0.5 h, 4 h, 8 h, 18 h and 24 h) after surgery. Hepatic cell proliferation (PCNA positive nuclei) and apoptosis (fluorescence microscopy) were evaluated.
Results:
Compared to CO treatment, FOH treatment inhibited (p<0.05) cell proliferation at 24h (S phase of the cell cycle) after PH. This was preceded by an induction of apoptosis 0.5 h (p<0.05; G(0)/G(1) transition phase) after surgery.
Conclusion:
The results of the present study suggest that apoptosis induction could be associated with the reduced number of cells at the S phase observed in FOH group. These novel in vivo data reinforce FOH as a promising chemopreventive and therapeutic agent against cancer.
