['Acute renal insufficiency and dysfunction are common complications after clinical liver transplantation. This study examined whether augmentor of liver regeneration (ALR) played a significant role to ameliorate renal tubular epithelial cell injury after liver transplantation.', 'Orthotopic liver transplantation was performed from Sprague-Dawley (SD) to SD rats. Twelve recipients were randomly divided into two groups: ALR group (with recombinated human ALR 100 microg/kg . d intramuscular injection postoperation) versus normal saline-treated group (with the same volume of normal saline injected intramuscularly postoperation). Rats were sacrificed at day 3 posttransplantation. Renal morphological changes in recipients were assessed with light microscopy. The expressions of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and caspase-3 protein and mRNA in the kidney were evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical staining.', 'Morphological changes in renal tubular epithelial cells were not significant in either group at day 3 posttransplantation. The intragraft expression of TNF-alpha and caspase-3 was strikingly promoted in the normal saline-treated group and PCNA attenuated compared to the ALR group.'] Does augmentor of liver regeneration ameliorate renal tubular epithelial cell injury after rat liver transplantation?