Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Jan 27, 2024; 16(1): 65-74
Published online Jan 27, 2024. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i1.65
Subcellular distribution of prohibitin 1 in rat liver during liver regeneration and its cellular implication
Qing-Ju Sun, Tao Liu
Qing-Ju Sun, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Navy No. 971 Hospital, Qingdao 266072, Shandong Province, China
Tao Liu, Department of Infectious Diseases, Navy No. 971 Hospital, Qingdao 266071, Shandong Province, China
Author contributions: Sun QJ designed the research study; Sun QJ and Liu T performed the research; Sun QJ and Liu T analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; All authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study is reported in accordance with the ARRIVE guidelines (https://arriveguidelines.org). All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: In this study, the ethics approval was obtained from the Medical Research and Ethics Committees at Navy 971 hospital in Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Tao Liu, MD, PhD, Doctor, Department of Infectious Diseases, Navy No. 971 Hospital, Qingdao 266071, Shandong Province, China. liu.tao@aliyun.com
Received: September 30, 2023
Peer-review started: September 30, 2023
First decision: October 23, 2023
Revised: November 3, 2023
Accepted: November 28, 2023
Article in press: November 28, 2023
Published online: January 27, 2024
Abstract
BACKGROUND

The function of prohibitin 1 (Phb1) during liver regeneration (LR) remains relatively unexplored. Our previous research identified downregulation of Phb1 in rat liver mitochondria 24 h after 70% partial hepatectomy (PHx), as determined by subcellular proteomic analysis.

AIM

To investigate the potential role of Phb1 during LR.

METHODS

We examined changes in Phb1 mRNA and protein levels, subcellular distribution, and abundance in rat liver during LR following 70% PHx. We also evaluated mitochondrial changes and apoptosis using electron microscopy and flow cytometry. RNA-interference-mediated knockdown of Phb1 (PHBi) was performed in BRL-3A cells.

RESULTS

Compared with sham-operation control groups, Phb1 mRNA and protein levels in 70% PHx test groups were downregulated at 24 h, then upregulated at 72 and 168 h. Phb1 was mainly located in mitochondria, showed a reduced abundance at 24 h, significantly increased at 72 h, and almost recovered to normal at 168 h. Phb1 was also present in nuclei, with continuous increase in abundance observed 72 and 168 h after 70% PHx. The altered ultrastructure and reduced mass of mitochondria during LR had almost completely recovered to normal at 168 h. PHBi in BRL-3A cells resulted in increased S-phase entry, a higher number of apoptotic cells, and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential.

CONCLUSION

Phb1 may contribute to maintaining mitochondrial stability and could play a role in regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis of rat liver cells during LR.

Keywords: Prohibitin 1, Liver regeneration, Subcellular proteomic analysis, Mitochondrial stability, Cell proliferation

Core tip: Using subcellular proteomic analysis, we previously found that prohibitin 1 (Phb1) was downregulated in rat liver mitochondria at 24 h after 70% partial hepatectomy (PHx). Phb1 has various functions, but little is known about its role during liver regeneration (LR). To explore the function of Phb1 in mitochondria during LR, we investigated the changes of Phb1 expression, the alterations of mitochondrial mass and ultrastructure, and the subcellular distribution of Phb1 at 24, 72 and 168 h in rat liver after 70% PHx. Using RNA-interference-mediated knockdown of Phb1, the potential functions of Phb1 were analyzed. Phb1 was differentially expressed during LR.