Fig. 6: Model of hepatocyte response to acute liver injury.

a Wnt secretion from the pericentral endothelium functions in the maintenance of the pericentral gene expression gradient in normal, quiescent liver. b Wnt secretion from macrophages aids in functional compensation of midzonal and periportal hepatocytes during the pre-proliferation phase of acute liver injury. c Wnt secreation is essential for both functional compensation and activation of the proliferative response during regeneration. Compensating hepatocytes contribute to a maintenance of hepatic function, whereas proliferating hepatocytes selectively down-regulate a subset of hepatic genes.