Direct effects of endotoxin on hepatocytes. Synthesis of a specific secretory protein.

The synthesis of acute-phase proteins by the liver during sepsis has been thought to be induced primarily by monokines released from activated macrophages, although glucocorticoid hormones may also stimulate this process to a lesser degree. According to this concept, synthesis of these proteins following administration of bacterial endotoxins would be an indirect effect and would not reflect a direct interaction of the endotoxin molecule with the hepatic parenchymal cell. We observed, however, that the synthesis of a 23-kilodalton protein was stimulated directly by the addition of lipopolysaccharide to cultures of primary mouse hepatocytes. The synthesis of this protein was also stimulated by glucocorticoids and interleukin 1. These findings demonstrate that certain hepatic proteins are subject to complex regulation by several factors thought to be important mediators of sepsis; in addition, they suggest that hepatic parenchymal cells may have the intrinsic capacity to respond directly to bacterial endotoxins.