Activin A is a prominent autocrine regulator of hepatocyte growth arrest

Activin A, a multifunctional cytokine, plays an important role in hepatocyte growth suppression and is involved in liver size control. The present study was aimed to determine the cell location of activin A in the normal rat liver microenvironment and the contribution of activin A signaling to the hepatocyte phenotype to obtain insight into molecular mechanisms. Immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization analyses identified hepatocytes as the major activin A-positive cell population in normal liver and identified mast cells as an additional activin A source. To investigate paracrine and autocrine activin A-stimulated effects, hepatocytes were cocultured with engineered activin A-secreting cell lines (RF1, TL8) or transduced with an adeno-associated virus vector encoding activin βA, which led to strikingly altered expression of cell cycle-related genes (Ki-67, E2F transcription factor 1 [E2F1], minichromosome maintenance complex component 2 [Mcm2], forkhead box M1 [FoxM1]) and senescence-related genes (cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2B [p15^INK4b/CDKN2B], differentiated embryo-chondrocyte expressed gene 1 [DEC1]) and reduced proliferation and induction of senescence. Microarray analyses identified 453 differentially expressed genes, many of which were not yet recognized as activin A downstream targets (e.g., ADAM metallopeptidase domain 12 [Adam12], semaphorin 7A [Sema7a], LIM and cysteine-rich domains-1 [Lmcd1], DAB2, clathrin adaptor protein [Dab2]). Among the main activin A-mediated molecular/cellular functions are cellular growth/proliferation and movement, molecular transport, and metabolic processes containing highly down-regulated genes, such as cytochrome P450, subfamily 2, polypeptide 11 (Cyp2C11), sulfotransferase family 1A, member 1 (Sult1a1), glycine-N-acyltransferase (Glyat), and bile acid-CoA:amino acid N-acyltransferase (Baat). Moreover, Ingenuity Pathway Analyses identified particular gene networks regulated by hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF)-4α and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) as key targets of activin A signaling. Conclusion: Our in vitro models demonstrated that activin A-stimulated growth inhibition and cellular senescence is mediated through p15^INK4b/CDKN2B and is associated with up- and down-regulation of numerous target genes involved in multiple biological processes performed by hepatocytes, suggesting that activin A fulfills a critical role in normal liver function. (Hepatology Communications 2017;1:852-870).