Figure 3.

Homocysteine impairs liver mass regeneration and inhibits proliferation of hepatocytes in vitro. A: Mice were sacrificed at various times after PH. Regenerating livers were collected and weighed. Regeneration of liver mass was calculated as the percentage of the average liver mass of mice that did not undergo surgery as control (CTR). *P < 0.05 versus HHcy (n = 7 per group at each time point). B: Primary cultured hepatocytes were incubated with 250 μmol/L homocysteine (Hcy) or methionine (Met). The cell proliferation was assessed by [³H]thymidine incorporation into DNA after treatment with homocysteine at various times. These results are means ± SD of five experiments. *P < 0.05 versus control (The concentration of homocysteine or methionine Met is zero.)