T he Ron receptor tyrosine kinase (TK), also known as stem cell-derived TK, is a heterodimeric single-span transmembrane glycoprotein involved in a wide range of biologic processes, including modulation of inflammatory responses. [1][2][3][4] The intracellular signaling responses of Ron and its only known ligand, the kringle-containing hepatocyte growth factor-like protein, also known as macrophage-stimulating protein, have been studied largely in vitro in resident peritoneal macrophages. To explore the role of the Ron receptor in vivo, our laboratory generated mice with the deletion of the TK domain of the Ron receptor (Ron TK Ϫ/Ϫ mice). 1 Ron TK Ϫ/Ϫ mice have no overt phenotypic abnormalities; however, the responses of Ron TK Ϫ/Ϫ and other Ron receptor mutant mice in several experimental murine models of inflammation, including injection of endotoxin, are markedly exaggerated compared with Ron TK ϩ/ϩ mice. 1,2,5 Very little is known about the biology of the Ron receptor in the liver, either in vitro or in vivo. Ron messenger RNA and protein have been detected in liver tissue, 6,7 and Ron protein has been localized by immunohistochemistry to the hepatocyte and Kupffer cell populations. 8 Given the observations previously noted with Ron TK Ϫ/Ϫ mice, we hypothesized that mice lacking functional Ron receptor would have exaggerated responses in experimental murine models of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-and Kupffer cell-mediated liver injury.We tested our hypothesis using a well-characterized LPS-induced murine model of acute liver failure (ALF) in galactosamine (GalN)-sensitized mice. 9-11 LPS-induced