Human hepatic stimulator substance: A product of gene expression of human fetal liver tissue

Cloning of human hepatic stimulator substance requires clarification of whether the substance is the product of gene expression of liver cells. In this article the translation experiment in Xenopus laevis oocytes indicates that poly (A)⁺ messenger RNA of human fetal liver cells could conduct the biosynthesis of human hepatic stimulator substance. The translated human hepatic stimulator substance is a heat-, acid- and alkaline-resistant, but specific hepatic-stimulating, protein with a molecular weight in the range of 10 to 30 kD and with secreting ability. The characteristics of the translated human hepatic stimulator substance are consistent with those of biochemically purified human hepatic stimulator substance from human fetal liver cells. These results demonstrate that human hepatic stimulator substance is a product of gene expression of human fetal liver cells and that the complementary DNA of human hepatic stimulator substance could be screened from the complementary DNA library of human fetal liver tissue. (HEPATOLOGY 1993;17:225–229.)