MAP kinase-dependent caspase mediated cell death in arsenic-treated hepatic stem cells

摘要

Arsenic (As) is a toxic and highly abundant metalloid that endangers human health through drinking water and the food chain. In East Asia, including Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, millions are chronically exposed to As (Nordstrom, 2002). Chronic exposure to As results in liver disease, often with portal hypertension leading to arsenico-sis (Straub et al., 2008) It is known that liver injury is often compensated by hepatocyte regeneration. In case of severe hepatic damage where hepato-cytes fail to regenerate, the hepatic stem cells (oval cells) play a very crucial role (He et al., 2004). Therefore, oval cells have aroused considerable interest because of their therapeutic potential in liver injury, tissue engineering, and gene therapy in liver-related diseases. There is not much information available on the effect of As on hepatic stem cells which encouraged us to study the effect of As in relation to initiation of cell death or apoptosis.