Response of fibronectin to liver regeneration after hepatectomy

The relationship between plasma fibronectin concentration and the regenerative process in liver remnants after hepatectomy was studied in 12 patients and in male Sprague-Dawley rats with and without cirrhosis. Plasma fibronectin levels were reduced immediately after hepatectomy in humans and rats. Patients and rats without cirrhosis displayed preoperative fibronectin levels within 1 mo and 1 wk, respectively, but low fibronectin levels persisted longer in those with cirrhosis. Plasma fibronectin levels correlated well with the degree of hepatic regeneration in the patients with cirrhosis (r = 0.4227; p less than 0.05) and without cirrhosis (r = 0.8148; p less than 0.001), and also with the percentage of change in liver weight during regeneration in the rat with thioacetamide-induced cirrhosis (r = 0.4905; p less than 0.01) or in the rat without cirrhosis (r = 0.6422; p less than 0.001). These results suggest that plasma fibronectin is a useful marker for the detection of regenerating liver.