Partial blockage of hepatocyte maturation in hepatoma-derived growth factor transgenic mice.

Aim: To investigate the role of hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) in liver development, especially in the hepatocyte differentiation.

Methods: We generated transgenic mice which overexpressed HDGF in hepatocytes under the transcriptional control of mouse albumin promoter/enhancer. To examine the effects of HDGF overexpression on hepatocyte differentiation, we investigated the expression patterns of the differentiation marker genes.

Results: The HDGF transgenic mice developed normally and showed no apparent abnormality in the liver. However, the gene expression patterns of the liver in adult transgenic mice were similar to those of the neonatal liver in control mice.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that HDGF-overexpression partially suppresses hepatocyte maturation.