Transplantation of liver stem/progenitor cells

摘要

The existence, need for, and possible function of progenitor or stem cells in the adult liver has been an area of controversy for many years'. The existence of such cells, postulated initially more than 40 years ago2, was based on studies in rodents in which it appeared that cells in the distal cholangioles of the bile ducts were responsible for restoration of liver mass after dietary injury. At that time it was also established that bile duct epithelial cells and hepatocytes are of common embryological origin, derived from the endoderm of the ventral foregut3'4. Therefore, a potential precursor/product relationship between cells of the distal cholangioles and hepatocytes seemed reasonable. However, in the absence of unique markers for stem cells, their specific identification has been problematic. Nonetheless, studies conducted during the past decade have clearly established the existence of cells both within and outside the liver that exhibit properties of stem cells that can differentiate into mature hepatocytes and/or bile duct epithelial cells after their transplantation into the liver.