Liver regeneration following 68% partial orthotopic liver transplantation in the rat

Liver regeneration following transplantation in 'small for size' conditions is not fully understood. We therefore evaluated the regenerative response of transplanted partial liver grafts in outbred rats without the use of immunosuppression and compared it to liver regeneration following resection. The transplanted livers showed enhanced regeneration compared to controls. We suggest that this is caused by activation of the immune system.