2009/08/13

Loss of GNMT impairs liver regeneration

Researchers at the CICbioGUNE-CIBERedh led by José Maria Mato and M-Luz Martínez-Chantar, in collaboration with investigators at the Keck School of Medicine (USA) and at the University of Vanderbilt (USA), have discovered that mice deficient in GNMT, the main enzyme responsible for catabolism of excess hepatic S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) have impaired liver regeneration.

The study, published in the August issue of Hepatology, confirms that down-regulation of intracellular SAMe levels is critical for hepatocyte proliferation and viability during liver regeneration.