A 15-μg or 50-μg dose of ASP was administered to C3–/– mice and a 15-μg dose of ASP was administered to C5L2–/– mice immediately after surgery, and all determinations were made at 48 hours after PHx. (A) Serum ALT levels. (B) Histological scores. (C) Assessment of regeneration by BrdU incorporation. (D) Restitution of liver weight. (E) Forty-eight-hour survival. (F) Western blot assay for phosphorylated form of STAT3 at 3 hours after PHx. Reconstitution of C3–/– mice with low-dose ASP but not high-dose ASP significantly increased 2-day survival. Note that phospho-STAT3 (p-STAT3) levels are strongly reduced in both C5L2–/– and C3–/– mice compared with WT mice. A 15-μg dose of ASP restored activation of STAT3 in C3–/– mice but not C5L2–/– mice. #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01 versus the C3–/– normal saline group; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 versus the WT group, respectively. For survival study, n = 10 for each group; all other studies, n = 4–6. Results are expressed as mean ± SD.