Expression of NCAM in activated portal fibroblasts during regeneration of the rat liver after partial hepatectomy

In the portal tract of the regenerating liver after partial hepatectomy, vascular and bile ductular remodeling takes place in response to the portal hyperdynamic state and parenchymal hyperplasia. In order to reveal phenotypical changes in the portal fibroblasts, we immunohistochemically investigated neural cell adhesion molecules (NCAM) and alpha smooth muscle actin (alpha SMA) expression and the ultrastructural changes in them during liver regeneration. In the control rat liver, portal fibroblasts were negative for both NCAM and a SMA. They became positive for both markers two days after partial hepatectomy, increased in staining intensity, reached a maximum at three to four days, then decreased, being still clearly positive at 14 days. Under an electron microscope, portal fibroblasts from the regenerating liver had larger amounts of cytoplasm and rough endoplasmic reticulum than those from the control liver; thus they might be activated. Additionally, periportal hepatic stellate cells in the regenerating liver were activated with a SMA, but without NCAM. The present study has demonstrated that portal fibroblasts express NCAM and a SMA in the regenerating liver after partial hepatectomy via transformation into myofibroblasts following reconstruction of the portal tracts.