Recruitment of macrophages and bone marrow stem cells to regenerating liver promoted by sodium phthalhydrazide in mice.

Pharmacological interventions which could be hepatoprotective, depending on bioavailability, anti-inflammatory and macrophage-targeting potential of drugs, are still at early preclinical stages. Existing evidence from many animal models of liver injury, as well as from human data, indicate that pharmacological and/or phytochemical interventions have limited impact on liver recovery. Recent studies on stem cell therapies focused on different cell subsets involved in tissue repair, including monocytes/macrophages and bone marrow cells migrating to the injured liver. Partial hepatectomy (PH) resulted in a rapid increase of monocytes/macrophages in bone marrow and liver, which could be further enhanced by prior treatment of animals with sodium phthalhydrazide. Increased number of proliferating Ki67+ hepatocytes, increased total protein and albumin content in regenerating liver, recruitment of CD172a+ macrophages and more differentiated CD45low CD117+ bone marrow cells, could be further promoted by the treatment of animals with 2 mg/kg b.w. phthalhydrazide, considered immunomodulatory, antioxidant and macrophage-silencing. Phenotypic polarization of macrophages can possibly explain the macrophage reparative capacities, protective against liver injury. Enhanced macrophage cell recruitment from bone marrow to regenerating liver can be possibly one of important events in hepatic recovery.