Premature Macrophage Activation by Stored Red Blood Cell Transfusion Halts Liver Regeneration Post-Partial Hepatectomy in Rats.

Liver resection is a common treatment for various conditions and often requires blood transfusions to compensate for operative blood loss. As partial hepatectomy (PHx) is frequently performed in patients with a pre-damaged liver, avoiding further injury is of paramount clinical importance. Our aim was to study the impact of red blood cell (RBC) resuscitation on liver regeneration.

Impaired liver regeneration after hepatectomy and bleeding is associated with a shift from hepatocyte proliferation to hypertrophy.

Extensive liver resections are common, and bleeding is frequent in these operations. Impaired regeneration after partial hepatectomy (PHx) may contribute to liver failure. We thus assessed the impact of acute bleeding on the liver regeneration progress after PHx and explored possible contributing molecular mechanisms.