Hepamin and Your Liver

Liver is an interesting organ with high regenerative capacity and complex functions (Michalopoulos and DeFrances, 1997; Taub, 2004; Michalopoulos and Khan, 2005c;Fausto et al., 2006). Liver receives all exiting circulation from the small and most of the large intestine, as well as spleen and pancreas, through the portal vein. Its “strategic” location in relation to the food supply via the portal vein, and the unique gene-and protein-expression patterns of hepatocytes (the main functional cells of the liver) allow it to function as a biochemical defense against toxic chemicals entering through the food and as a re-processor of absorbed food ingredients. Nutrients entering the liver are transformed into secreted proteins (albumin, most coagulation factors, several plasma carrier proteins etc. in the peripheral blood), lipids sent as lipoproteins into the other tissues, carbohydrates stored in the liver as glycogen (the main glucose reserve used for stabilization of glucose levels in the blood). Synthesis of bile is essential for absorption of fat and lipophilic nutrients. As a major regulator of plasma glucose and ammonia levels, liver is essential for optimal function of the brain. Loss of liver function leads to chronic “hepatic encephalopathy” and eventually coma. The wide array of functions performed by liver towards the rest of the body has been safeguarded by evolutionary events which imparted to liver a phenomenal capacity to regenerate. This process allows liver to recover lost mass without jeopardizing viability of the entire organism. The phenomenon of liver regeneration following loss of liver mass is seen in all vertebrate organisms, from humans to fish. It is also triggered when livers from small animals (e.g., dogs) are transplanted to large recipients of the same species. It has been recorded and mythologized in ancient times from the myth of Prometheus and libraries of clay tables picturing scarred livers of sacrificial animals, used to foretell the future in ancient Babylon and Rome (Michalopoulos and DeFrances, 1997).