Up-regulation of the expression of leucine-rich α2-glycoprotein in hepatocytes by the mediators of acute-phase response

Leucine-rich α2-glycoprotein (LRG) is a plasma protein in which leucine-rich repeats (LRRs) were first discovered. Although the physiological function of LRG is not known, increases in the serum level of LRG have been reported in various diseases. In this study, we found that LRG was induced by recombinant human IL-6 in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. The induction of LRG by IL-6 was up-regulated synergistically with either IL-1β or TNFα in a pattern similar to those for type 1 acute-phase proteins. We also found that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administered intraperitoneally to mice enhanced dose-dependently the expression of LRG mRNA in the liver as well as those for mouse major acute-phase proteins. These results strongly suggest that LRG was a secretory type 1 acute-phase protein whose expression was up-regulated by the mediator of acute-phase response.