The effect of a novel form of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (CSF1-Fc) on gene expression in the liver.

Treatment of mice with daily injections of CSF1-Fc produce a 50% increase in the size of the liver within 5 days. There was extensive proliferation of hepatocytes, similar to that seen following partial hepatectomy. Comparative gene expression profiles of the treated and control livers, alongside macrophages grown in CSF1, indicate extensive infiltration by macrophages in response to CSF1-Fc, and demonstrate that infiltrating macrophages produced several candidate mediators of hepatocyte proliferation.