Relationship of hepatocyte growth factor in human umbilical vein serum to gestational age in normal pregnancies

Hepatocyte growth factor: from diagnosis to clinical applications

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), initially identified and molecularly cloned as a potent mitogen of primary cultured hepatocytes, has multiple activities in a variety of tissues during the course of development and also in various disease states. HGF plays key roles in the attenuation of disease progression as an intrinsic repair factor. It is also evident that HGF levels are regulated under different conditions, for example, during the course of pregnancy, aging, and disease. This review focuses on the levels of HGF in normal and pathophysiological situations and examines the relationships between HGF levels and disease, disease stage, and disease prognosis. The clinical potential of HGF as a treatment for subjects with various diseases is also given attention.

Hepatocyte growth factor in human semen and its association with semen parameters

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a structurally unique growth factor with potent motogenic (motility inducing) effects. Studies in the murine male genital tract have suggested important associations between HGF and the acquisition of sperm motility during epididymal maturation. The aim of this study was, therefore, to determine the concentration of HGF in human semen and assess its correlation, if any, with sperm motility and other semen parameters. Semen samples were collected by masturbation and analysed using standard procedures. HGF concentrations were measured in duplicate using an enzyme-linked immunoassay technique. Total protein estimations were also made in a subset of samples. The 95 subjects were divided into three groups for analysis: normozoospermic, subnormal semen and azoospermic. HGF was detected in all samples (median 0.456, 25th centile 0.388, 75th centile 0.556 ng/ml). No significant correlations were found between semen HGF concentrations and sperm concentration, motility, total sperm count or total motile count. There were no significant differences in mean HGF concentrations between the three subgroups. In conclusion HGF is present in human semen in significant quantities. The data do not suggest HGF concentrations are correlated with parameters of sperm motility.

Hepatocyte growth factor in human breast milk

PROBLEM

The purposes of this study were to investigate the presence of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in human milk, to identify the cells that produce HGF in human milk, and to determine the contribution of HGF to the growth of neonates.

METHOD OF STUDY

The HGF concentrations in serum and whey were determined with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. The presence of HGF in whey was also examined by Western blot analysis. To determine which cells in human milk produce HGF, an immunohistochemical examination was conducted. The expression of HGF mRNA in the mononuclear cells in human milk was examined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The effects of whey and of recombinant HGF (rHGF) on DNA synthesis by a rat small intestinal cell line, IEC-6, were examined by [3H]thymidine uptake.

RESULTS

Human colostrum whey contained 2.22 +/- 1.02 ng of HGF/ml. Milk whey collected 1 month later contained 1.83 +/- 1.03 ng of HGF/ml. The presence of the heterodimeric form of HGF in colostrum whey was demonstrated by Western blot analysis. HGF was detected in the cytoplasm of human milk macrophages by an immunohistochemical examination, and the RT-PCR also revealed that HGF mRNA is expressed in the mononuclear cells of human milk. DNA synthesis by IEC-6 cells was increased by rHGF treatment and by whey treatment. The effect of whey on DNA synthesis by IEC-6 cells was partially, but significantly, decreased by anti-human HGF-neutralizing antibody treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Human milk contains a large amount of the active form of HGF, produced by macrophages, and HGF in human milk induces the growth of intestinal cells. Our data suggest that HGF in human milk is one of the important factors regulating the growth of intestinal cells in neonates after birth.

Expression of hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor and its receptor, MET, suggests roles in human embryonic organogenesis

Hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) is secreted by mesenchymal cells and elicits proliferation, motility, differentiation, and morphogenesis of epithelia and other cells. These effects are mediated by binding to MET, a receptor tyrosine kinase. Genetically engineered mice lacking HGF/SF die in utero due to a failure of placental and hepatocyte differentiation, but little information exists regarding the expression of this signaling system in human development. Using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, Western blots, and immunohistochemistry, we report that HGF/SF and MET are expressed during critical early periods of human organogenesis from 6 to 13 wk of gestation. Organs that expressed both genes included liver, metanephric kidney, intestine, and lung, each of which develop by inductive interactions between mesenchyme and epithelia. Of all organs studied, the placenta contained the highest levels of HGF/SF protein, and MET was detected in trophoblastic cells of chorionic villi as early as the 5th wk of gestation. Finally, examination of a human multicystic dysplastic kidney demonstrated that malformed, hyperproliferative tubules expressed MET, whereas HGF/SF protein was immunolocalized to the same epithelia and also to the surrounding undifferentiated cells. Hence HGF/SF might be an important growth factor in normal human embryogenesis and may additionally play a role in human organ malformations.