Cholestasis and bile acids induce expression of the oncofetal marker Nope in adult murine hepatocytes independent of Fxr

Background: Neighbor of Punc E11 (Nope) is strongly expressed in hepatic stem/progenitor cells and in hepatocellular carcinoma but not in terminally differentiated hepatocytes. We here investigated the expression pattern of Nope in adult mice after biliary liver injury. Methods: Liver tissue was extracted from adult C57Bl/6 mice and Fxr-/- mice 24 hours up to 4 weeks after bile duct ligation (BDL) or after a 1 week diet containing cholic (0.5%) or ursodeoxycholic acid (0.5%). Liver tissue was tested for expression levels of Nope via quantitative RT-PCR. Costainings were performed for Nope in combination with CK1…