Cholestasis induces expression of the oncofetal marker Nope in adult murine liver independent of Fxr

Background: Neighbor of Punc E11 (Nope) is an axonal guidance receptor that is strongly expressed in fetal and adult hepatic stem/progenitor cells and in hepatocellular carcinoma but not in terminally differentiated hepatocytes. We here investigated the expression pattern of the oncofetal marker Nope in adult mice in regenerating liver 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 leve…