Abstract
Regenerative capacity is progressively lost with age. Here we show that pregnancy markedly improved liver regeneration in aged mice concomitantly with inducing a switch from proliferation-based liver regeneration to a regenerative process mediated by cell growth. We found that the key mediator of this switch was the Akt/mTORC1 pathway; its inhibition blocked hypertrophy, while increasing proliferation. Moreover, pharmacological activation of this pathway sufficed to induce the hypertrophy module, mimicking pregnancy. This treatment dramatically improved hepatic regenerative capacity and survival of old mice. Thus, cell growth-mediated mass reconstitution, which is relatively resistant to the detrimental effects of aging, is employed in a physiological situation and holds potential as a therapeutic strategy for ameliorating age-related functional deterioration.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Aging / physiology*
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Animals
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Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / pharmacology
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Cell Proliferation
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Female
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Hepatectomy
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Hepatocytes / cytology
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Hepatocytes / drug effects
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Hyperplasia / metabolism
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Hypertrophy / metabolism
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Liver / cytology
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Liver / drug effects
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Liver / growth & development
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Liver / metabolism*
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Liver / surgery
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Liver Regeneration / drug effects
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Liver Regeneration / physiology*
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Male
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Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1
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Mice
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Mice, Inbred C57BL
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Multiprotein Complexes
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Pregnancy
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Proteins
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Signal Transduction / drug effects
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Sirolimus / pharmacology
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TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
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Transcription Factors / metabolism*
Substances
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Antibiotics, Antineoplastic
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Multiprotein Complexes
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Proteins
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Transcription Factors
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Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1
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TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
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Sirolimus