Hepatocyte proliferative activity in human liver cirrhosis

Background/Aims: The objective of this study was to validate, with an independent prospective cohort of patients, our previous data indicating that the proliferating cell nuclear antigen-labeling index (PCNA-LI) reflects the liver functional reserve in human cirrhosis and might have prognostic significance for patient survival. We also examined how this proliferative index is related to the expression of transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1) as a possible correlate of hepatocyte proliferative activity.