The hyaluronic acid receptor, CD44, exists as multiple splice variants that appear to have a
role in migration of tumor cells. The role of this receptor and its variants in normal wound
repair is poorly understood. A central feature of wound repair in the liver is activation and
migration of perisinusoidal stellate cells. We have examined CD44 expression by stellate
cells from normal or injured rat liver, finding that it increases with injury and involves a
distinct set of CD44 splice variants. Among the latter, variants containing the v6 exon …