Production of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and type-1 plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) in mildly cirrhotic rat liver.

We have studied the production of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and type-1 plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) in liver of normal rats and in rats with mild cirrhosis induced by carbon tetrachloride inhalation, to demonstrate the production of these fibrinolytic components and their pathophysiologic role in the liver in vivo. Immunohistochemical study of paraffin-embedded liver sections and fibrin autography of frozen sections showed that the normal rat liver produces very little t-PA or PAI-1. On the contrary, striking t-PA activity and both t-PA and PAI-1 antigens were observed in the cirrhotic liver. Both t-PA and PAI-1 in plasma were also markedly increased in the cirrhotic rats. Because the hepatocyte can internalize t-PA or PA/PAI-1 complexes from circulation, Northern blot analysis of the total liver RNA was performed to demonstrate the endogenous synthesis of t-PA and PAI in the liver. Although the normal liver hardly expresses either t-PA or PAI-1 mRNA, striking t-PA and PAI-1 mRNA expression was observed in the liver of rats with mild cirrhosis. These data demonstrate that t-PA and PAI-1 production is strongly upregulated in the liver in rats with mild cirrhosis. These fibrinolytic components, whose production is closely associated with liver failure, may play important roles in the regulation of hepatocyte proliferation and liver regeneration in vivo.