Hepatic vagotomy blunts liver regeneration after hepatectomy by downregulating the expression of interleukin-22

Figure 4 Administration of exogenous interleukin-22 reverses the inhibition of liver regeneration caused by hepatic vagotomy. A: Representative BrdU staining pictures of liver tissues at 48 h from the partial hepatectomy (PHx)-hepatic vagotomy (Hv) group and the PHx-Hv-interleukin-22 group (200 ×); B and C: The proportion of BrdU⁺ hepatocytes (48 h) and the liver weight/body weight ratio of these two groups were counted; D and E: Serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities of these two groups were detected to determine the severity of liver injury; F and G: Detection of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 pathway and related protein expression in mouse livers by western blotting (6 h) (n = 5-7). ^aP < 0.05. PHx: Partial hepatectomy; Hv: Hepatic vagotomy; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; LW/BW: Liver weight/body weight; STAT3: Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3.