Effects of serotonin and its receptors in the course of liver regeneration in rats

Objective To investigate the effects of serotonin and its receptors in the course of liver regeneration.Methods Fifty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups in which forty rats of experimental group were subjected to 60%-70% partial hepatectomy and ten rats of control group were subjected to sham operation.Rats in experimental group were sacrificed at 24,48,36,72 h after partial hepatectomy.Proliferating cell nuclear antigens(PCNA) were measured by using flow cytometry and Ki67 was detected by using immunohistochemisty.The expression of serotonin receptor 2 subgroup 2A and 2B in liver were measured by using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR.Serotonin in liver and jejunum was detected by means of immunohistochemisty.Results The expression of PCNA and Ki67 peaked at 24 and 36 h after partial hepatectomy.The expression of liver serotonin receptor 2 subgroup 2A and 2B and jejunum serotonin increased and peaked at 36 h after partial hepatectomy.Conclusion During rat liver regeneration,the expression of serotonin and its receptors were upregulated,which might be related with liver regeneration.