Focal liver necrosis appears early after partial hepatectomy and is dependent on T cells and antigen delivery from the gut.

Introduction: Progressive liver failure may develop following removal of a large part of the liver or transplantation of a small for size liver graft. The pathophysiology of this clinical syndrome is only partially understood.

Methods: We assessed liver damage and hepatocyte 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation following partial hepatectomy (PH) in C57BL/6, BALB/C and immune-deficient mice.