Review Article

Improvement of Sepsis by Hepatocyte Growth Factor, an Anti-Inflammatory Regulator: Emerging Insights and Therapeutic Potential

Table 2

Increases in blood HGF levels in patients during various diseases.

Patients (P)Healthy control (HC)Ratio of P to HC (Fold increase)Literature

Sepsis
0.69 ± 0.47 ng/mL* 0.10 ± 0.03 ng/mL 6.90Sakon et al. [47]
SIRS (non-sepsis)
0.49 ± 0.37 ng/mL 0.10 ± 0.03 ng/mL 4.90Sakon et al. [47]
Septicemia
4.53–5.11 ng/mL** 0.7–0.77 ng/mL approx. 6.5Nayeri et al. [48]
Skin infection
2.61–2.75 ng/mL 0.7–0.77 ng/mL approx. 3.7Nayeri et al. [48]
Bacterial pneumonia
0.96 ± 0.27 ng/mL 0.29 ± 0.03 ng/mL 4.18Maeda et al. [58]
Acute hepatitis
0.45 ± 0.23 ng/mL 0.27 ± 0.08 ng/mL 1.67Shiota et al. [59]
Chronic hepatitis
0.40 ± 0.16 ng/mL 0.27 ± 0.08 ng/mL 1.48Shiota et al. [59]
Liver cirrhosis
1.05 ± 0.64 ng/mL 0.27 ± 0.08 ng/mL 3.89Shiota et al. [59]
Severe pancreatitis
2.30 ± 0.61 ng/mL n.d. n.d.Ueda et al. [60]
Ulcerative colitis
1.38 ± 0.11 ng/mL n.d. n.d.Srivastava et al. [61]

*Average value ± SD, **Median-mean value, and n.d.: not done.
During organ injury, endogenous HGF is delivered through endocrine and paracrine pathways and contributes to an increase in blood HGF levels [10]. HGF seems to be present in blood in an inactive form (i.e., pro-HGF) [62]. Thus, a rapid administration of recombinant HGF (i.e., active HGF) may be recommended under pathological conditions. Pharmacological levels of recombinant HGF in blood can be sustained within a range of 3–30 ng/mL, by modifying the injection doses and their intervals [15, 32].