{"id":25890,"date":"2025-06-03T14:15:15","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T12:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/?p=25890"},"modified":"2025-06-05T08:53:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T06:53:11","slug":"key-regions-of-dna-and-genes-that-trigger-liver-regeneration-have-been-identified","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/2025\/06\/key-regions-of-dna-and-genes-that-trigger-liver-regeneration-have-been-identified\/","title":{"rendered":"Key regions of DNA and genes that trigger liver regeneration have been identified"},"content":{"rendered":"

The mammalian liver has an extraordinary regenerative capacity, capable of fully restoring its mass and function after injury or partial resection. Research led by researchers at the University of Barcelona has identified the regions of DNA that activate the regeneration of this organ. The study, published in the journal Cell Genomics<\/em><\/a>, provides a genome-scale map of the interactions between the regulatory elements of liver regeneration and the key genes involved in this process<\/strong>. This results allow us to better understand the fundamental mechanisms of regeneration and, in the future, could have implications for the development of regenerative medicine.<\/p>\n

The work is signed by the researcher Palmira Llorens-Giralt, first author of the article, and professors Florenci Serras and Montserrat Corominas, all three from the Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics of the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Biomedicine of the UB<\/a> (IBUB).\u00a0 Researchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the Area CIBER of Liver and Digestive Diseases (CIBEREHD), the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and the Institute of Molecular Biology of Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC) have also participated.<\/p>\n

The study uses mouse liver after a resection of the organ to analyse changes in chromatin, the structure in which DNA is organized within the cell’s nucleus, which has a key role in regulating gene expression during regeneration. “Resection or partial hepatectomy is a common clinical practice, both in the removal of liver tumours and in living donor transplants, where part of the liver is transplanted into a patient with liver dysfunction, so understanding how this process works can help to design strategies that optimize its response”, explains Montserrat Corominas, who coordinated the research together with Isabel Fabregat, leader of the TGF-beta and cancer research group<\/a> at IDIBELL.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Parallels with embryonic liver development<\/strong><\/p>\n

To obtain a global and dynamic view of the regeneration process, the researchers have analysed multiple genomic data that have made it possible, among others, to compare regeneration with embryonic development of the liver and to detect parallels between both processes. With this approach, they have been able to demonstrate that the expression of key genes for regeneration is orchestrated by a wide variety of regulatory elements<\/strong>, including enhancers – regions of DNA that activate gene expression – specific to regeneration, but also reactivated developmental enhancers – reused from various stages of embryonic development.<\/p>\n

Researchers have also found that liver regeneration involves the repression of enhancers that regulate specific metabolic functions of the liver, especially those involved in the metabolism of fats and other lipids. “This reveals that regeneration is a highly regulated process, in which an inverse relationship is established: these proliferation programs are prioritized while metabolic processes of high energy demand<\/strong>, such as the synthesis of bile acids and retinols, are temporarily inhibited<\/strong>,” stresses Palmira Llorens-Giralt.<\/p>\n

The study also identifies possible transcriptional regulators that orchestrate liver regeneration: these are three transcription factors, proteins that regulate the activity of genes by stimulating or repressing their transcription. Thus, at the beginning of liver regeneration, the AP-1<\/strong> and ATF3<\/strong> complexes would be responsible for activating the enhancers responsible for turning on the transcriptional programs to allow the hepatocytes to come out of their inactive state and begin to proliferate. In a second phase, this regulation would become dominated by NRF2<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A bridge to translational regenerative medicine<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the highlights of this study is that it provides a genome-wide map of enhancer-gene interactions. Together with the identification of key regulators in early liver regeneration, this could be a valuable resource for future research focusing on regulatory elements involved in liver regeneration.<\/p>\n

Although this is a basic research study and therefore aims to better understand the fundamental mechanisms of regeneration, without immediate clinical application, the researchers stress that it may have implications for the development of regenerative medicine<\/strong>. “This in-depth knowledge is what makes it possible to lay the foundations for future medical advances and, finally, to translate into specific therapeutic interventions, such as drugs that activate specific enhancers or that modulate the regenerative response. Studies like this, therefore, can act as a bridge to translational regenerative medicine,” the researchers conclude.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a research center established in 2004 specialized in cancer, neuroscience, translational medicine, and regenerative medicine. It counts on a team of more than 1.500 professionals who, from 73 research groups, publish more than 1.400 scientific articles per year. IDIBELL is participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Viladecans Hospital of the Catalan Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona, and the City Council of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.<\/em><\/p>\n

IDIBELL is a member of the Campus of International Excellence of the University of Barcelona HUBc and is part of the CERCA institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2009 it became one of the first five Spanish research centers accredited as a health research institute by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, it is part of the “HR Excellence in Research” program of the European Union and is a member of EATRIS and REGIC. Since 2018, IDIBELL has been an Accredited Center of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A genomic-scale map of the interactions between the regulatory elements of liver regeneration and the key genes involved is drawn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":25896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[180,264,215],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cancer","category-molecular-mechanisms-and-experimental-therapy-in-oncology-program-oncobell","category-tgf-beta-and-cancer"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2025-07-04 22:06:03","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25890"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25912,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25890\/revisions\/25912"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}