Hepatic Stem Cells and Liver Repopulation

Mariana D. Dabeva; David A. Shafritz

doi:10.1055/s-2004-815562

Seminars in Liver Disease, Table of Contents

Semin Liver Dis 2003; 23(4): 349-362
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-815562

Hepatic Stem Cells and Liver Repopulation

Mariana D. Dabeva¹ , David A. Shafritz²

¹Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Marion Bessin Liver Research Center, Bronx, New York; Department of Medicine and
²Professor, Departments of Medicine, Cell Biology and Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Marion Bessin Liver Research Center, Bronx, New York

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Research on hepatic stem cells has entered a new era of controversy, excitement, and great expectations. Although adult liver stem cells have not yet been isolated, an enormous repopulating capacity of transplanted mature hepatocytes under conditions of continuous liver injury has been discovered. Stem/progenitor cells from fetal liver have been successfully isolated and transplanted, repopulating up to 10% of normal liver. However, progenitor cell lines from adult and embryonic liver have not shown significant repopulating activity. Intensive research on embryonic stem cells has revealed the first promising attempts to use these cells as a source of hepatic progenitors. Conditions for their differentiation in vitro, isolation of purified hepatic progenitor cells, and liver repopulation are currently being evaluated. Multilineage adult progenitor cells of mesenchymal origin from bone marrow, muscle, and brain may turn out to be the long-sought primitive potential stem cells remaining in adult tissues.

KEYWORDS

Tissue-specific stem cell - cell transplantation - liver repopulation - gene therapy

Full Text

References

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