The most effective therapy for acute or chronic hepatic failure is orfhotopic liver transplantation. However, the number of compatible donors limits liver transplants. Thus, finding an alternative method to liver transplantation is a major challenge. Two categories of cells can repair a liver injury: oval cells, regarded as liver stem cells and differentiated hepatocytes. Hepatocytes have the unique capacity to self-renew and repair the liver ad integrant when stimulated to proliferate by a liver injury, such as partial hepatectomy. Hepatocyte transplantation, in which donor hepatocytes are infused into the recipient as an alternative to orthotopic liver transplantation, has been successfully used in a few patients with liver-based congenital metabolic disorders1'2. In rodents, hepatocyte transplantation has shown to improve survival in acute and chronic liver failure3.
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