Abstract
Summary
On the basis of a comparison of the action of blood sera from partially hepatectomized and control rats on the growth response of tissue cells in vitro an hypothesis was formulated with regard to the induction of the regenerative process in the liver which follows partial hepatectomy. According to this hypothesis certain constituents of normal blood serum exert a growth inhibitory action at their normal concentrations. Partial hepatectomy reduces the amount of functioning hepatic tissue thereby resulting in a decrease of the serum concentration of these constituents. This in turn results in the initiation of regenerative growth in the liver. Further evidence supporting this hypothesis was obtained by the induction of cell division in the intact liver of adult rats by decreasing the concentration of serum constituents in vivo through plasmapheresis.
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