Metabolic Regulation of Liver Regeneration

All serious liver injuries alter metabolism. Those injuries also initiate hepatic regeneration. Experimental analyses using rodent partial hepatectomy and other models implicate the metabolic changes that occur in response to hepatic injury as vital regulators of liver regeneration. These studies also show that disrupting certain elements of the stereotypical metabolic response to hepatic insufficiency suppresses liver regeneration, while augmenting components of the response can accelerate regeneration. Such data raise the possibility that specific metabolic interventions might promote human liver regeneration for therapeutic benefit in liver disease. This chapter provides an update to recent reviews considering the functional connections between metabolism and liver regeneration and includes an overview of the current evidence in support of regenerative functions of liver injury-induced alterations in metabolism, discussions about important areas for further study, and reflections on provocative clinical implications raised by these considerations.