Involvement of osteoactivin in inflammatory hepatocarcinogenesis: analysis of mice lacking osteoacitivin expression

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In this study, we investigated an involvement of osteoacitivin, which is expressed in infiltrating macrophages, in repair of injured livers and hepatocarcinogenesis. In mice with CCl4-induced liver injury, osteoactivin was expressed in macrophages infiltrating in injured livers during repair process, and macrophages positive for osteoactivin exhibited enhanced ability of phagocytosis. When macrophages were depleted, repair of injured livers was suppressed. Additionally, mice lacking osteoactivin expression showed inhibition of both fibrosis and its resolution. When hepatoma cells were inoculated, following induction of liver injury, enhanced development of hepatic tumors was observed. These results suggest that osteoactivin play an important role in repair of injured livers and also in development of hepatocellular carcinoma occurring in the context of liver injury.