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Yang X, Li Q, Liu W, Zong C, Wei L, Shi Y, Han Z. Mesenchymal stromal cells in hepatic fibrosis/cirrhosis: from pathogenesis to treatment. Cell Mol Immunol 2023; 20:583-599. [PMID: 36823236 PMCID: PMC10229624 DOI: 10.1038/s41423-023-00983-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatic fibrosis/cirrhosis is a significant health burden worldwide, resulting in liver failure or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and accounting for many deaths each year. The pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis/cirrhosis is very complex, which makes treatment challenging. Endogenous mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been shown to play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis. Paradoxically, exogenous MSCs have also been used in clinical trials for liver cirrhosis, and their effectiveness has been observed in most completed clinical trials. There are still many issues to be resolved to promote the use of MSCs in the clinic in the future. In this review, we will examine the controversial role of MSCs in the pathogenesis and treatment of hepatic fibrosis/cirrhosis. We also investigated the clinical trials involving MSCs in liver cirrhosis, summarized the parameters that need to be standardized, and discussed how to promote the use of MSCs from a clinical perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Yang
- Department of Tumor Immunology and Gene Therapy Center, Third Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, China
- Key Laboratory on Signaling Regulation and Targeting Therapy of Liver Cancer, Ministry of Education, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital/National Center for Liver Cancer, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, China
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Institutes for Translational Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Key Laboratory of Stem Cells and Medical Biomaterials of Jiangsu Province, Medical College of Soochow University, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215000, China
- Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Qing Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tissue Microenvironment and Tumor, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Wenting Liu
- Department of Tumor Immunology and Gene Therapy Center, Third Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, China
- Key Laboratory on Signaling Regulation and Targeting Therapy of Liver Cancer, Ministry of Education, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital/National Center for Liver Cancer, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Chen Zong
- Department of Tumor Immunology and Gene Therapy Center, Third Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, China
- Key Laboratory on Signaling Regulation and Targeting Therapy of Liver Cancer, Ministry of Education, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital/National Center for Liver Cancer, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Lixin Wei
- Department of Tumor Immunology and Gene Therapy Center, Third Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, China
- Key Laboratory on Signaling Regulation and Targeting Therapy of Liver Cancer, Ministry of Education, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital/National Center for Liver Cancer, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Yufang Shi
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Institutes for Translational Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Key Laboratory of Stem Cells and Medical Biomaterials of Jiangsu Province, Medical College of Soochow University, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215000, China.
- Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy.
| | - Zhipeng Han
- Department of Tumor Immunology and Gene Therapy Center, Third Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
- Key Laboratory on Signaling Regulation and Targeting Therapy of Liver Cancer, Ministry of Education, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital/National Center for Liver Cancer, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
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Dong Y, Kong W, An W. Downregulation of augmenter of liver regeneration impairs the therapeutic efficacy of liver epithelial progenitor cells against acute liver injury by enhancing mitochondrial fission. STEM CELLS (DAYTON, OHIO) 2021; 39:1546-1562. [PMID: 34310799 DOI: 10.1002/stem.3439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Cell-based therapeutic approaches have been proven to be effective strategies for the treatment of acute liver injury (ALI). However, widespread application of these procedures is limited by several key issues, including rapid loss of stemness in vitro, aberrant differentiation into undesirable cell types, and low engraftment in vivo. In this study, liver epithelial progenitor cells (LEPCs) were characterized and transfected with augmenter of liver regeneration (ALR). The results revealed that in ALI mice with CCl4 , the transplantation of ALR-bearing LEPCs into the liver markedly protected mice against ALI by decreasing the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), thus relieving hepatic tissue injury and attenuating inflammatory infiltration. Mechanistically, the knockdown of ALR in LEPCs activated the phosphorylation of dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) at the S616 site and thereby enhanced mitochondrial fission. In contrast, the transfection of ALR into LEPCs significantly inhibited Drp1 phosphorylation, thereby favoring the maintenance of mitochondrial integrity and the preservation of adenosine triphosphate contents in LEPCs. Consequently, the ALR-bearing LEPCs transplanted into ALI mice exhibited substantially greater homing ability to the injured liver via the SDF-1/CXCR4 axis than that of LEPCs-lacking ALR. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the transplantation of ALR-transfected LEPCs protected mice against CCl4 -induced ALI, thus offering immense curative potential in the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Dong
- Department of Cell Biology, Capital Medical University, The Municipal Key Laboratory for Liver Protection and Regulation of Regeneration, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Weining Kong
- Department of Cell Biology, Capital Medical University, The Municipal Key Laboratory for Liver Protection and Regulation of Regeneration, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei An
- Department of Cell Biology, Capital Medical University, The Municipal Key Laboratory for Liver Protection and Regulation of Regeneration, Beijing, People's Republic of China
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Yu B, Li H, Chen J, He Z, Sun H, Yang G, Shang C, Wang X, Li C, Chen Y, Hu Y. Extensively expanded murine-induced hepatic stem cells maintain high-efficient hepatic differentiation potential for repopulation of injured livers. Liver Int 2020; 40:2293-2304. [PMID: 32394491 DOI: 10.1111/liv.14509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Revised: 04/10/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIM Shortage of donor hepatocytes limits hepatocyte transplantation for clinical application. Induced hepatic stem cells (iHepSCs) have capacities of self-renewal and bipotential differentiations. Here, we investigated whether iHepSCs could be extensively expanded, and whether they could differentiate into sufficient functional hepatocytes as donors for transplantation therapy after their extensive expansions. METHODS Murine extensively expanded iHepSCs (50-55 passages) were induced to differentiate into iHepSC-Heps under a chemically defined condition. iHepSC-Heps were proved for carrying morphological hepatocyte characters and hepatocytic functions including low-density lipoprotein uptake, glycogen storage, CLF secretion, ICG uptake and release, Alb secretion, urea synthesis and metabolism-relative gene expressions respectively. Next, both iHepSCs and iHepSC-Heps were transplanted into Fah-/- mice respectively. Both liver repopulation and alleviation of liver function were compared between two transplantation groups. RESULTS Murine iHepSCs still maintained the capacities of self-renewal and bipotential differentiations after extensive expansion. The efficiency for the functional hepatocyte differentiation from extensively expanded iHepSCs reached to 72.64%. Transplantations of both extensively expanded iHepSCs and iHepSC-Heps resulted in liver engraftment in Fah-/- mice. Survival rate of Fah-/- mice recipients and level of liver repopulation were 50% and 20.32 ± 4.58% respectively in iHepSC-Heps group, while 33% and 10.4 ± 4.3% in iHepSCs group. CONCLUSIONS Extensively expanded iHepSCs can efficiently differentiate into hepatocytes in chemical defined medium. Transplantation of iHepSC-Heps was more effective and more efficient than transplantation of iHepSCs in Fah-/- mice. Our results suggested an innovative system to obtain sufficient hepatocytes through hepatic differentiation of iHepSCs generated by lineage reprogramming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Yu
- Department of Cell Biology, Center for Stem Cell and Medicine, Navy Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, P. R. China.,Department of Hepatic Surgery V, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Navy Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, P.R. China
| | - Hengyu Li
- Department of General Surgery IV, Changhai Hospital, Navy Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, P.R. China
| | - Jie Chen
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Zhiying He
- Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China
| | - Haixiang Sun
- Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion (Fudan University), Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China
| | - Guangshun Yang
- Department of Hepatic Surgery V, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Navy Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, P.R. China
| | - Changzhen Shang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Xin Wang
- Research Center for Laboratory Animal Science, Inner Mongolia University, Huhhot, P.R. China.,Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.,Hepatoscience Section, Cell Lab Tech Incorporation, Sunnyvale, CA, USA
| | - Chuanjiang Li
- Division of Hepatobiliopancreatic Surgery, Department of General Surgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, P. R. China
| | - Yajin Chen
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Yiping Hu
- Department of Cell Biology, Center for Stem Cell and Medicine, Navy Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, P. R. China
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Utility of Common Marmoset ( Callithrix jacchus) Embryonic Stem Cells in Liver Disease Modeling, Tissue Engineering and Drug Metabolism. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11070729. [PMID: 32630053 PMCID: PMC7397002 DOI: 10.3390/genes11070729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The incidence of liver disease is increasing significantly worldwide and, as a result, there is a pressing need to develop new technologies and applications for end-stage liver diseases. For many of them, orthotopic liver transplantation is the only viable therapeutic option. Stem cells that are capable of differentiating into all liver cell types and could closely mimic human liver disease are extremely valuable for disease modeling, tissue regeneration and repair, and for drug metabolism studies to develop novel therapeutic treatments. Despite the extensive research efforts, positive results from rodent models have not translated meaningfully into realistic preclinical models and therapies. The common marmoset Callithrix jacchus has emerged as a viable non-human primate model to study various human diseases because of its distinct features and close physiologic, genetic and metabolic similarities to humans. C. jacchus embryonic stem cells (cjESC) and recently generated cjESC-derived hepatocyte-like cells (cjESC-HLCs) could fill the gaps in disease modeling, liver regeneration and metabolic studies. They are extremely useful for cell therapy to regenerate and repair damaged liver tissues in vivo as they could efficiently engraft into the liver parenchyma. For in vitro studies, they would be advantageous for drug design and metabolism in developing novel drugs and cell-based therapies. Specifically, they express both phase I and II metabolic enzymes that share similar substrate specificities, inhibition and induction characteristics, and drug metabolism as their human counterparts. In addition, cjESCs and cjESC-HLCs are advantageous for investigations on emerging research areas, including blastocyst complementation to generate entire livers, and bioengineering of discarded livers to regenerate whole livers for transplantation.
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Saleh M, Taher M, Sohrabpour AA, Vaezi AA, Nasiri Toosi M, Kavianpour M, Ghazvinian Z, Abdolahi S, Verdi J. Perspective of placenta derived mesenchymal stem cells in acute liver failure. Cell Biosci 2020; 10:71. [PMID: 32483484 PMCID: PMC7245988 DOI: 10.1186/s13578-020-00433-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Acute Liver failure (ALF) is a life-threatening disease and is determined by coagulopathy (with INR ≥ 1.5) and hepatic encephalopathy as a result of severe liver injury in patients without preexisting liver disease. Since there are problems with liver transplantation including lack of donors, use of immunosuppressive drugs, and high costs of this process, new therapeutic approaches alongside current treatments are needed. The placenta is a tissue that is normally discarded after childbirth. On the other hand, human placenta is a rich source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which is easily available, without moral problems, and its derived cells are less affected by age and environmental factors. Therefore, placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (PD-MSCs) can be considered as an allogeneic source for liver disease. Considering the studies on MSCs and their effects on various diseases, it can be stated that MSCs are among the most important agents to be used for novel future therapies of liver diseases. In this paper, we will investigate the effects of mesenchymal stem cells through migration and immigration to the site of injury, cell-to-cell contact, immunomodulatory effects, and secretory factors in ALF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahshid Saleh
- 1Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Taher
- 2Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Imam Hospital Complex, Tehran, Iran
| | - Amir Ali Sohrabpour
- 3Gastroenterology and Hepatology, School of Medicine Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
| | - Amir Abbas Vaezi
- 4Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran
| | - Mohsen Nasiri Toosi
- 5Internal Medicine, School of Medicine Liver Transplantation Research Center Imam, Khomeini Hospital Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maria Kavianpour
- 1Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Zeinab Ghazvinian
- 1Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Shahrokh Abdolahi
- 1Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Javad Verdi
- 1Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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6
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Khalil MR, El-Demerdash RS, Elminshawy HH, Mehanna ET, Mesbah NM, Abo-Elmatty DM. Therapeutic effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in a rat model of carbon tetrachloride induced liver fibrosis. Biomed J 2020; 44:598-610. [PMID: 32389821 PMCID: PMC8640564 DOI: 10.1016/j.bj.2020.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2018] [Revised: 10/30/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Liver fibrosis is a major medical problem with high mortality and morbidity rates where the formation of regenerative nodules and cirrhosis leads to loss of liver function and may result in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) have drawn attention as a novel approach for treatment of liver fibrosis. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of BM-MSCs on the liver structure in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced liver fibrosis in male rats relative to resveratrol and Silybum marianum as standard drugs derived from herbal plants. Methods Fifty adult male albino rats (Sprague Dawley strain; 180–220 g mean body weight) were purchased from the Laboratory Animal Unit in the Nile Center of Experimental Research, Mansoura, Egypt. Liver function were determined, isolation and preparation of BM- MSCs and detection of cell-surface markers by flow cytometry. Results Animals exposed to CCl4 developed liver injury characterized by significant increase of liver enzymes, malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), and CYP450, inhibition of antioxidant enzymes, and decreased albumin. Treatment with stem cells enhanced liver state more effectively than resveratrol and S. marianum. It significantly decreased AST, ALT, ALP, MDA, TNF-α, and CYP450 and increased albumin, SOD, GSH, GST, and CAT. Histopathological study and atomic force microscope results confirmed the therapeutic effects of MSCs. Conclusions BM-MSCs could restore liver structure and function in CCL4 induced liver fibrosis rat model, ameliorating the toxicity of CCl4 and improving liver function tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed R Khalil
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Delta University, Damietta, Egypt
| | - Reda S El-Demerdash
- Department of Clinical Pathology, Urology and Nephrology Center, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Hazem H Elminshawy
- Department of Internal Medicine, Specialized Medical Hospital, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Eman T Mehanna
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
| | - Noha M Mesbah
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt
| | - Dina M Abo-Elmatty
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt
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7
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Hu C, Zhao L, Wu Z, Li L. Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells and their derivatives effectively promotes liver regeneration to attenuate acetaminophen-induced liver injury. Stem Cell Res Ther 2020; 11:88. [PMID: 32106875 PMCID: PMC7047366 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-020-01596-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Revised: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Acetaminophen (APAP)-induced injury is a common clinical phenomenon that not only occurs in a dose-dependent manner but also occurs in some idiosyncratic individuals in a dose-independent manner. APAP overdose generally results in acute liver injury via the initiation of oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, autophagy, liver inflammation, and microcirculatory dysfunction. Liver transplantation is the only effective strategy for treating APAP-induced liver failure, but liver transplantation is inhibited by scarce availability of donor liver grafts, acute graft rejection, lifelong immunosuppression, and unbearable costs. Currently, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) effectively restores liver functions early after APAP intake, but it does not protect against APAP-induced injury at the late stage. An increasing number of animal studies have demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) significantly attenuate acute liver injury through their migratory capacity, hepatogenic differentiation, immunoregulatory capacity, and paracrine effects in acute liver failure (ALF). In this review, we comprehensively discuss the mechanisms of APAP overdose-induced liver injury and current therapies for treating APAP-induced liver injury. We then comprehensively summarize recent studies about transplantation of MSC and MSC derivatives for treating APAP-induced liver injury. We firmly believe that MSCs and their derivatives will effectively promote liver regeneration and liver injury repair in APAP overdose-treated animals and patients. To this end, MSC-based therapies may serve as an effective strategy for patients who are waiting for liver transplantation during the early and late stages of APAP-induced ALF in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenxia Hu
- Collaborative Innovation Center for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Lingfei Zhao
- Kidney Disease Center, First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.,Key Laboratory of Kidney Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.,Institute of Nephrology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhongwen Wu
- Collaborative Innovation Center for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Lanjuan Li
- Collaborative Innovation Center for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, State Key Laboratory for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. .,National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
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Oct4 and Hnf4α-induced hepatic stem cells ameliorate chronic liver injury in liver fibrosis model. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0221085. [PMID: 31404112 PMCID: PMC6690533 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Direct conversion from fibroblasts to generate hepatocyte like-cells (iHeps) bypassing the pluripotent state has been described in previous reports as an attractive method acquiring hepatocytes for cell-based therapy. The limited proliferation of iHeps, however, has hampered it uses in cell-based therapy. Since hepatic stem cells (HepSCs) possess self-renewal and bipotency with the capacity to differentiate into both hepatocytes and cholangiocytes, they have therapeutic potential for treating liver disease. Here, we investigated the therapeutic effects of induced HepSCs (iHepSCs) on a carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver fibrosis model. We demonstrate that Oct4 and Hnf4a are sufficient to convert fibroblasts into expandable iHepSCs. Hepatocyte-like cells derived from iHepSCs (iHepSC-HEPs) exhibit the typical morphology of hepatocytes and hepatic functions, including glycogen storage, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) uptake, Indocyanine green (ICG) detoxification, drug metabolism, urea production, and albumin secretion. iHepSCs-derived cholangiocyte-like cells (iHepSC-CLCs) expressed cholangiocyte-specific markers and formed cysts and tubule-like structures with apical-basal polarity and secretory function in three-dimensional culture condition. Furthermore, iHepSCs showed anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects in CCl4-induced liver fibrosis. This study demonstrates that Oct4 and Hnf4α-induced HepSCs show typical hepatic and biliary functionality in vitro. It also presents the therapeutic effect of iHepSCs in liver fibrosis. Therefore, directly converting iHepSCs from somatic cells may facilitate the development of patient-specific cell-based therapy for chronic liver damage.
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Wang F, Sun NN, Li LL, Zhu WW, Xiu J, Shen Y, Xu Q. Hepatic progenitor cell activation is induced by the depletion of the gut microbiome in mice. Microbiologyopen 2019; 8:e873. [PMID: 31094067 PMCID: PMC6813488 DOI: 10.1002/mbo3.873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2018] [Revised: 04/29/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The homeostasis of the gut microbiome is crucial for human health and for liver function. However, it has not been established whether the gut microbiome influence hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs). HPCs are capable of self‐renewal and differentiate into hepatocytes and cholangiocytes; however, HPCs are normally quiescent and are rare in adults. After sustained liver damage, a ductular reaction occurs, and the number of HPCs is substantially increased. Here, we administered five broad‐spectrum antibiotics for 14 days to deplete the gut microbiomes of male C57BL/6 mice, and we measured the plasma aminotransferases and other biochemical indices. The expression levels of two HPC markers, SRY‐related high mobility group‐box gene 9 (Sox9) and cytokeratin (CK), were also measured. The plasma aminotransferase activities were not affected, but the triglyceride, lactate dehydrogenase, low‐density lipoprotein, and high‐density lipoprotein concentrations were significantly altered; this suggests that liver function is affected by the composition of the gut microbiome. The mRNA expression of Sox9 was significantly higher in the treated mice than it was in the control mice (p < 0.0001), and a substantial expression of Sox9 and CK was observed around the bile ducts. The mRNA expression levels of proinflammatory factors (interleukin [IL]‐1β, IL‐6, tumor necrosis factor [TNF]‐α, and TNF‐like weak inducer of apoptosis [Tweak]) were also significantly higher in the antibiotic‐treated mice than the levels in the control mice. These data imply that the depletion of the gut microbiome leads to liver damage, negatively impacts the hepatic metabolism and function, and activates HPCs. However, the underlying mechanisms remain to be determined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking, Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Neuroscience center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Nan-Nan Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking, Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Neuroscience center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lan-Lan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking, Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Neuroscience center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wan-Wan Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking, Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Neuroscience center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jianbo Xiu
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking, Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Neuroscience center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yan Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking, Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Neuroscience center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Qi Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking, Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Neuroscience center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
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Intrasplenic Transplantation of Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Associated Protein 4-Fas Ligand--Modified Hepatic Oval Cells for Acute Liver Injury in Rats. Transplant Proc 2019; 51:942-950. [PMID: 30979487 DOI: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2019.01.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2018] [Revised: 12/19/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Intrasplenic transplantation of xenogeneic hepatic oval cells (HOCs) may provide metabolic support for acute liver injury. However, xenoreactive lymphocyte-mediated immune response hinders HOCs' survival in the xeno-spleen parenchyma. Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4-Fas ligand (CTLA4.FasL), a fusion product integrating 2 inhibitory elements against lymphocytes into 1 molecule, effectively inhibited the proliferation of allogeneic and autoimmune lymphocytes. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of CTLA4.FasL on the proliferation of xenoreactive lymphocytes and evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of CTLA4.FasL-modified HOC transplantation on acute liver injury in rats. METHODS The effect of CTLA4.FasL-modified mouse liver epithelial progenitor cells (CTLA4.FasL-LEPCs) on the proliferation of rat lymphocytes in xeno-mixed lymphocyte reaction was investigated. Furthermore, CTLA4.FasL-LEPCs were intrasplenically transplanted in carbon tetrachloride- and partial hepatectomy-treated rats, and the therapeutic effect was evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin staining and alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase assays. The hepatocytic differentiation of CTLA4.FasL-LEPCs in xenogeneic spleen was monitored by immunohistochemical staining for albumin. RESULTS In xeno-mixed lymphocyte reaction, CTLA4.FasL-LEPCs substantially inhibited the rat lymphocytes proliferation. CTLA4.FasL-LEPC transplantation significantly ameliorated liver injury compared with mCherry-modified LEPC and LEPC transplantation, as assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase assays. Albumin positive cells appeared only in CTLA4.FasL-LEPCs group, but not in the mCherry-modified LEPCs group and LEPCs group. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate CTLA4.FasL-LEPCs substantially improved liver function and structure in carbon tetrachloride- and partial hepatectomy-induced acute liver injury rats through long-term hepatocytic differentiation.
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Fiore EJ, Domínguez LM, Bayo J, García MG, Mazzolini GD. Taking advantage of the potential of mesenchymal stromal cells in liver regeneration: Cells and extracellular vesicles as therapeutic strategies. World J Gastroenterol 2018; 24:2427-2440. [PMID: 29930465 PMCID: PMC6010941 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i23.2427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Revised: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 06/02/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell-based therapies for acute and chronic liver diseases are under continuous progress. Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells able to migrate selectively to damaged tissue and contribute to its healing and regeneration. The MSC pro-regenerative effect occurs due to their immunomodulatory capacity and their ability to produce factors that promote cell protection and survival. Likewise, it has been observed that part of their paracrine effect is mediated by MSC-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs contain proteins, lipids and nucleic acids (DNA, mRNA, miRNA, lncRNA) from the cell of origin, allowing for intercellular communication. Recently, different studies have demonstrated that MSC-derived EVs could reproduce, at least in part, the biological effects obtained by MSC-based therapies. Moreover, due to EVs' stability for long periods of time and easy isolation methods they have become a therapeutic option to MSCs treatments. This review summarizes the latest results achieved in clinical trials using MSCs as cell therapy for liver regeneration, the role of EVs in liver physiopathology and the potential of MSCderived EVs as intercellular mediators and therapeutic tools in liver diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esteban Juan Fiore
- Laboratory of Gene Therapy, Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional, CONICET-Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires 999071, Argentina
| | - Luciana María Domínguez
- Laboratory of Gene Therapy, Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional, CONICET-Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires 999071, Argentina
| | - Juan Bayo
- Laboratory of Gene Therapy, Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional, CONICET-Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires 999071, Argentina
| | - Mariana Gabriela García
- Laboratory of Gene Therapy, Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional, CONICET-Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires 999071, Argentina
| | - Guillermo Daniel Mazzolini
- Laboratory of Gene Therapy, Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional, CONICET-Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires 999071, Argentina
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12
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Gu Y, Wei W, Cheng Y, Wan B, Ding X, Wang H, Zhang Y, Jin M. A pivotal role of BEX1 in liver progenitor cell expansion in mice. Stem Cell Res Ther 2018; 9:164. [PMID: 29907129 PMCID: PMC6002993 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-018-0905-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2017] [Revised: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The activation and expansion of bipotent liver progenitor cells (LPCs) are indispensable for liver regeneration after severe or chronic liver injury. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms regulating LPCs and LPC-mediated liver regeneration remain elusive. Methods Hepatic brain-expressed X-linked 1 (BEX1) expression was evaluated using microarray screening, real-time polymerase chain reaction, immunoblotting and immunofluorescence. LPC activation and liver injury were studied following a choline-deficient, ethionine-supplemented (CDE) diet in wild-type (WT) and Bex1−/− mice. Proliferation, apoptosis, colony formation and hepatic differentiation were examined in LPCs from WT and Bex1−/− mice. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma was detected in Bex1-deficient LPCs and mouse livers, and was silenced to analyse the expansion of LPCs from WT and Bex1−/− mice. Results Hepatic BEX1 expression was increased during CDE diet-induced liver injury and was highly elevated primarily in LPCs. Bex1−/− mice fed a CDE diet displayed impaired LPC expansion and liver regeneration. Bex1 deficiency inhibited LPC proliferation and enhanced LPC apoptosis in vitro. Additionally, Bex1 deficiency inhibited the colony formation of LPCs but had no effect on their hepatic differentiation. Mechanistically, BEX1 inhibited peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma to promote LPC expansion. Conclusion Our findings indicate that BEX1 plays a pivotal role in LPC activation and expansion during liver regeneration, potentially providing novel targets for liver regeneration and chronic liver disease therapies. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13287-018-0905-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuting Gu
- Pediatric Institute of Soochow University, Institutes for Translational Medicine, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.,Department of Pediatric Surgery, Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Weiting Wei
- Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yueyang Road, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Yiji Cheng
- Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yueyang Road, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Bing Wan
- Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yueyang Road, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Xinyuan Ding
- Department of Pharmacy, the Affiliated Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hui Wang
- Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yueyang Road, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Yanyun Zhang
- Pediatric Institute of Soochow University, Institutes for Translational Medicine, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. .,Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yueyang Road, Shanghai, 200031, China.
| | - Min Jin
- Pediatric Institute of Soochow University, Institutes for Translational Medicine, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. .,Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yueyang Road, Shanghai, 200031, China.
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13
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Lim KT, Kim J, Hwang SI, Zhang L, Han H, Bae D, Kim KP, Hu YP, Schöler HR, Lee I, Hui L, Han DW. Direct Conversion of Mouse Fibroblasts into Cholangiocyte Progenitor Cells. Stem Cell Reports 2018; 10:1522-1536. [PMID: 29606616 PMCID: PMC5995161 DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2018.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2017] [Revised: 03/04/2018] [Accepted: 03/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Disorders of the biliary epithelium, known as cholangiopathies, cause severe and irreversible liver diseases. The limited accessibility of bile duct precludes modeling of several cholangiocyte-mediated diseases. Therefore, novel approaches for obtaining functional cholangiocytes with high purity are needed. Previous work has shown that the combination of Hnf1β and Foxa3 could directly convert mouse fibroblasts into bipotential hepatic stem cell-like cells, termed iHepSCs. However, the efficiency of converting fibroblasts into iHepSCs is low, and these iHepSCs exhibit extremely low differentiation potential into cholangiocytes, thus hindering the translation of iHepSCs to the clinic. Here, we describe that the expression of Hnf1α and Foxa3 dramatically facilitates the robust generation of iHepSCs. Notably, prolonged in vitro culture of Hnf1α- and Foxa3-derived iHepSCs induces a Notch signaling-mediated secondary conversion into cholangiocyte progenitor-like cells that display dramatically enhanced differentiation capacity into mature cholangiocytes. Our study provides a robust two-step approach for obtaining cholangiocyte progenitor-like cells using defined factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyung Tae Lim
- Department of Stem Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Jonghun Kim
- Department of Stem Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Seon In Hwang
- Department of Stem Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Ludi Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Heonjong Han
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 04056, Republic of Korea
| | - Dasom Bae
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 04056, Republic of Korea
| | - Kee-Pyo Kim
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Röntgenstrasse 20, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Yi-Ping Hu
- Department of Cell Biology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Hans R Schöler
- Department of Stem Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Röntgenstrasse 20, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Insuk Lee
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 04056, Republic of Korea
| | - Lijian Hui
- State Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Dong Wook Han
- Department of Stem Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea; KU Open-Innovation Center, Institute of Biomedical Science & Technology, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea; Department of Advanced Translational Medicine, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea.
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14
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Li XF, Chen C, Xiang DM, Qu L, Sun W, Lu XY, Zhou TF, Chen SZ, Ning BF, Cheng Z, Xia MY, Shen WF, Yang W, Wen W, Lee TKW, Cong WM, Wang HY, Ding J. Chronic inflammation-elicited liver progenitor cell conversion to liver cancer stem cell with clinical significance. Hepatology 2017; 66:1934-1951. [PMID: 28714104 DOI: 10.1002/hep.29372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2017] [Revised: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 07/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED The substantial heterogeneity and hierarchical organization in liver cancer support the theory of liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs). However, the relationship between chronic hepatic inflammation and LCSC generation remains obscure. Here, we observed a close correlation between aggravated inflammation and liver progenitor cell (LPC) propagation in the cirrhotic liver of rats exposed to diethylnitrosamine. LPCs isolated from the rat cirrhotic liver initiated subcutaneous liver cancers in nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient mice, suggesting the malignant transformation of LPCs toward LCSCs. Interestingly, depletion of Kupffer cells in vivo attenuated the LCSC properties of transformed LPCs and suppressed cytokeratin 19/Oval cell 6-positive tumor occurrence. Conversely, LPCs cocultured with macrophages exhibited enhanced LCSC properties. We further demonstrated that macrophage-secreted tumor necrosis factor-α triggered chromosomal instability in LPCs through the deregulation of ubiquitin D and checkpoint kinase 2 and enhanced the self-renewal of LPCs through the tumor necrosis factor receptor 1/Src/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 pathway, which synergistically contributed to the conversion of LPCs to LCSCs. Clinical investigation revealed that cytokeratin 19/Oval cell 6-positive liver cancer patients displayed a worse prognosis and exhibited superior response to sorafenib treatment. CONCLUSION Our results not only clarify the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the inflammation-mediated LCSC generation but also provide a molecular classification for the individualized treatment of liver cancer. (Hepatology 2017;66:1934-1951).
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Feng Li
- The International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Cheng Chen
- The International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.,Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Dai-Min Xiang
- The International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.,National Center of Liver Cancer, Shanghai, China
| | - Le Qu
- The International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.,Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Wen Sun
- The International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xin-Yuan Lu
- Department of Pathology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Shanghai, China
| | - Teng-Fei Zhou
- The International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shu-Zhen Chen
- The International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Bei-Fang Ning
- Department of Gastroenterology, Changzheng Hospital, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhuo Cheng
- The International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ming-Yang Xia
- The International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wei-Feng Shen
- Department of Hepatic Surgery, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Shanghai, China
| | - Wen Yang
- The International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wen Wen
- The International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Terence Kin Wah Lee
- Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
| | - Wen-Ming Cong
- Department of Pathology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Shanghai, China
| | - Hong-Yang Wang
- The International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.,National Center of Liver Cancer, Shanghai, China
| | - Jin Ding
- The International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.,National Center of Liver Cancer, Shanghai, China
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15
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Wang K, Liu H, Yang J, Ma C, Zhang Z, Zheng D, Guan W. Liver epithelioid progenitor cells derived from fetal Luxi bovine alleviate liver fibrosis. Cytotechnology 2017. [PMID: 28625011 DOI: 10.1007/s10616-017-0113-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Liver epithelioid progenitor cells (LEPCs) have important roles in liver therapy because of their hepatic differentiation potency in vitro and in vivo. Despite many researches on humans, mice, and rats, equivalent progenitor cells derived from bovine are relatively rare. The purpose of our current study is to characterize bovine LEPCs, and research on the cure potency of this heteroplastic progenitor cells on mice liver fibrosis. We have used collagenase IV digesting and differential adhesion method to isolate slabstone shape, EpCAM, LGR5, NCAM1 and SOX9 positive progenitor cells from fetal Luxi bovine liver. When cultured in hepatic differentiation media containing 20 ng/ml Oncostatin M, LEPCs can differentiate into hepatocytes in vitro. After 4 weeks of intravenous tail vein injection into CCl4-injured mouse liver, LEPCs engrafted into liver parenchyma, differentiated into ALB positive hepatocytes, and could alleviate liver fibrosis through down regulating fibrosis genes-Tgfb1 and α-SMA as well as decreasing expression of collagen gene Col1a1, Col3a1, and Col4a1, and regain liver function by recovering ALT and AST. Our findings provided a useful tool for studying liver development in vitro, new cell resource for heterograft on mouse liver diseases, and a new platform for researches on immune rejection of heterogeneous cell transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kunfu Wang
- College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China
- Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Hao Liu
- Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, 273165, China
| | - Jinjuan Yang
- Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Caiyun Ma
- Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Zebiao Zhang
- Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Dong Zheng
- College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China.
| | - Weijun Guan
- Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China.
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16
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Yu L, Chen S, Luo N, He S. The C-terminus domain of the hepatitis B virus x protein stimulates the proliferation of mouse foetal hepatic progenitor cells, although it is not required for the formation of spheroids. Int J Mol Med 2017. [PMID: 28627604 PMCID: PMC5505023 DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2017.3026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The hepatitis B virus X (HBx) protein is an important factor in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The C-terminal region of HBx plays a major role in the replication of HBV. Notably, HBx promotes the expansion and tumourigenesis of hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) in mice. However, it remains unclear as to whether the C-terminal region of HBx is required for the stimulation fo the proliferation of mouse foetal HPCs (FHPCs). In our study, we used EpCAM+, CD133+ and CD49f+ FHPCs, which are bipotential clonogenic cells. These FHPCs transformed into mature hepatocytes and cholangiocytes when cultured under conditions that facilitate differentiation. Compared with the FHPCs grown as monolayers, spherical cell proliferation occurred more rapidly. Furthermore, spherically cultured FHPCs can grow in semi-solid agar and tend to maintain the morphology and characteristics of stem cells compared with growth in rat tail collagen. Notably, we also demonstrate that the C-terminus of HBx stimulates the proliferation of FHPCs, but is not required for the formation of spheroids, similar to hepatic cancer stem cells. These findings enhance our understanding of the HBx-induced tumourigenicity of FHPCs and may aid in the treatment of HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liming Yu
- Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, P.R. China
| | - Shu Chen
- Department of Hematology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, P.R. China
| | - Na Luo
- Department of ICU, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China
| | - Song He
- Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, P.R. China
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17
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Hu J, Yuan R, Huang C, Shao J, Zou S, Wang K. Double primary hepatic cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma) originating from hepatic progenitor cell: a case report and review of the literature. World J Surg Oncol 2016; 14:218. [PMID: 27535234 PMCID: PMC4989533 DOI: 10.1186/s12957-016-0974-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2016] [Accepted: 08/04/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Synchronous development of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) in different sites of the liver have rarely been reported before. The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of synchronous double cancer of HCC and ICC. CASE PRESENTATION A 56-year-old Chinese man without obvious liver cirrhosis was preoperation diagnosed with multiple HCC in segments VI (SVI) and VII (SVII) by the abdominal computed tomography (CT) and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS). We performed hepatic resection of both segments. The tumors in SVI and SVII were pathologically diagnosed as ICC and HCC, respectively. Immunohistochemically, the HCC in SVII was positive for HepPar-1 and negative for CK19, while the ICC in SVI tumor was positive for CK19 and negative for HepPar-1. Interestingly, the immunohistochemical results also showed that the classic hepatic progenitor cell (HPCs) markers CD34 and CD117 were both positive of the two tumors. The patient still survived and at a 1-year follow-up did not show evidence of metastasis or new recurrent lesions. We speculate that the two masses may have originated from HPCs based on the findings of this patient. CONCLUSIONS Synchronous development of HCC and ICC is very rare with unique clinical and pathological features. The correct preoperative diagnosis of double hepatic cancer of HCC and ICC is difficult. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were both the independent risk factor to the development of double liver cancer. Hepatic resection is the preferred and most effective treatment choice. The prognosis of synchronous occurrence of double hepatic cancer was poorer than for either HCC or ICC, and the origin of it needs further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junwen Hu
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No.1, Minde Road, Nanchang, 330006, China
| | - Rongfa Yuan
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No.1, Minde Road, Nanchang, 330006, China
| | - Changwen Huang
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No.1, Minde Road, Nanchang, 330006, China
| | - Jianghua Shao
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No.1, Minde Road, Nanchang, 330006, China
| | - Shubing Zou
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No.1, Minde Road, Nanchang, 330006, China.
| | - Kai Wang
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No.1, Minde Road, Nanchang, 330006, China.
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18
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The potential role of liver stem cells in initiation of primary liver cancer. Hepatol Int 2016; 10:893-901. [PMID: 27139191 DOI: 10.1007/s12072-016-9730-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2015] [Accepted: 04/01/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Identification of the cellular origin of primary liver cancer remains challenging. Some data point toward liver stem cells (LSCs) or liver progenitor cells (LPCs) not only as propagators of liver regeneration, but also as initiators of liver cancer. LSCs exhibit a long lifespan and strong duplicative potential upon activation and are inclined to accumulate more mutations that can be passed down to the next generations. Recent evidence shows that dysregulation of signaling pathways associated with self-renewal of LSCs can drive their aberrant proliferation and even malignant transformation. If LSCs could be proved to be an initiator of liver carcinogenesis, they would be promising for ultra-early diagnosis and targeting therapy of liver cancer. This review mainly summarizes the potential role of LSCs in the carcinogenesis of primary liver cancer.
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19
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Abstract
Currently, the most effective treatment for end-stage liver fibrosis is liver transplantation; however, transplantation is limited by a shortage of donor organs, surgical complications, immunological rejection, and high medical costs. Recently, mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy has been suggested as an effective alternate approach for the treatment of hepatic diseases. MSCs have the potential to differentiate into hepatocytes, and therapeutic value exists in their immune-modulatory properties and secretion of trophic factors, such as growth factors and cytokines. In addition, MSCs can suppress inflammatory responses, reduce hepatocyte apoptosis, increase hepatocyte regeneration, regress liver fibrosis and enhance liver functionality. Despite these advantages, issues remain; MSCs also have fibrogenic potential and the capacity to promote tumor cell growth and oncogenicity. This paper summarizes the properties of MSCs for regenerative medicine and their therapeutic mechanisms and clinical application in the treatment of liver fibrosis. We also present several outstanding risks, including their fibrogenic potential and their capacity to promote pre-existing tumor cell growth and oncogenicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Young Woo Eom
- Cell Therapy and Tissue Engineering Center, Wonju, Korea
| | - Kwang Yong Shim
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea
| | - Soon Koo Baik
- Cell Therapy and Tissue Engineering Center, Wonju, Korea
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea
- Correspondence to Soon Koo Baik, M.D. Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, 20 Ilsan-ro, Wonju 26426, Korea Tel: +82-33-741-1223 Fax: +82-33-745-6782 E-mail:
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20
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Liu Y, Cao L, Chen R, Zhou X, Fan X, Liang Y, Jia R, Wang H, Liu G, Guo Y, Zhao J. Osteopontin Promotes Hepatic Progenitor Cell Expansion and Tumorigenicity via Activation of β-Catenin in Mice. Stem Cells 2015; 33:3569-80. [PMID: 26033745 DOI: 10.1002/stem.2072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2014] [Revised: 04/12/2015] [Accepted: 04/27/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Upregulation of osteopontin (OPN) has been found in hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) in several liver diseases with portal biliary proliferation. Here, we investigated the role of HPC-derived autocrine OPN in regulating HPC expansion, migration, and hepatocarcinogenesis in mice. Five-week-old, weighing between 18 and 20 g of either wild type (WT) or OPN gene knockout (OPN-KO) male mice were treated with modified choline-deficient, ethionine-supplemented diet (modified choline-deficient [MCDE]) for 2 weeks to induce HPC production, or 6-12 months to induce tumorigenesis. Epithelial cell adhesion molecule EpCAM(+) CD45(-) cells isolated from mouse liver and liver epithelial progenitor cells were used for in vitro study. OPN was blocked by specific antibody or RNAi-mediated silence to investigate the role of OPN. To evaluate correlation between OPN expression and β-catenin activity, expressions of OPN and β-catenin were assessed in human liver cancer specimens. We found autocrine OPN promotes HPC expansion and migration by decreasing membranous E-cadherin and increasing free cytoplasmic β-catenin via binding to αv integrin and activating Src activity. Depletion of OPN significantly attenuated MCDE-induced hepatocarcinogenesis. Clinical evidence revealed a strong correlation of high OPN expression with cytoplasmic/nuclear expression of β-catenin in 43 cases of human combined hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma and mixed intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and 80 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma. Our results indicate that autocrine OPN plays a crucial role in HPC expansion, migration, and subsequent oncogenic transformation of HPCs, which may provide a new insight into hepatocarcinogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Liu
- International Joint Cancer Institute, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.,Changhai Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Lei Cao
- International Joint Cancer Institute, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.,Clinical Immunology Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Suzhou University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Rui Chen
- International Joint Cancer Institute, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Xuyu Zhou
- Changhai Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoyu Fan
- International Joint Cancer Institute, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Yingchao Liang
- International Joint Cancer Institute, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Rongjie Jia
- International Joint Cancer Institute, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Hao Wang
- International Joint Cancer Institute, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Guoke Liu
- International Joint Cancer Institute, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Yajun Guo
- International Joint Cancer Institute, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.,PLA General Hospital Cancer Center, PLA postgraduate School of Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Cell Engineering and Antibody, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Jian Zhao
- International Joint Cancer Institute, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.,PLA General Hospital Cancer Center, PLA postgraduate School of Medicine, Beijing, People's Republic of China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Cell Engineering and Antibody, Beijing, People's Republic of China
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21
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Giri S, Acikgöz A, Bader A. Isolation and Expansion of Hepatic Stem-like Cells from a Healthy Rat Liver and their Efficient Hepatic Differentiation of under Well-defined Vivo Hepatic like Microenvironment in a Multiwell Bioreactor. J Clin Exp Hepatol 2015; 5:107-22. [PMID: 26155038 PMCID: PMC4491607 DOI: 10.1016/j.jceh.2015.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2015] [Accepted: 03/20/2015] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Currently, undifferentiated cells are found in all tissue and term as local stem cells which are quiescent in nature and less in number under normal healthy conditions but activate upon injury and repair the tissue or organs via automated activating mechanism. Due to very scanty presence of local resident somatic local stem cells in healthy organs, isolation and expansion of these adult stems is an immense challenge for medical research and cell based therapy. Particularly organ like liver, there is an ongoing controversy about existence of liver stem cells. METHODS Herein, Hepatic stem cells population was identified during culture of primary hepatocyte cells upon immediate isolation of primary hepatocyte cells. These liver stem cells has been expanded extensively and differentiated into primary hepatocytes under defined culture conditions in a nanostructured self assembling peptides modular bioreactor that mimic the state of art of liver microenvironment and compared with Matrigel as a positive control. Nanostructured self assembling peptides were used a defined extracellular matrix and Matrigel was used for undefined extracellular matrix. Proliferation of hepatic stem cells was investigated by two strategies. First strategy is to provide high concentration of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and second strategy is to evaluate the role of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) in presence of trauma/ischemia cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α). Expansion to hepatic differentiation is observed by morphological analysis and was evaluated for the expression of hepatocyte-specific genes using RT-PCR and biochemical methods. RESULTS Hepatocyte-specific genes are well expressed at final stage (day 21) of differentiation period. The differentiated hepatocytes exhibited functional hepatic characteristics such as albumin secretion, urea secretion and cytochrome P450 expression. Additionally, immunofluorescence analysis revealed that hepatic stem cells derived hepatocytes exhibited mature hepatocyte markers (albumin, CK-19, CPY3A1, alpha 1-antitrypsin). Expansion and hepatic differentiation was efficiently in nanostructured self assembling peptides without such batch to batch variation while there was much variation in Matrigel coated bioreactor. In conclusion, the results of the study suggest that the nanostructured self assembling peptides coated bioreactor supports expansion as well as hepatic differentiation of liver stem cells which is superior than Matrigel. CONCLUSION This defined microenvironment conditions in bioreactor module can be useful for research involving bioartificial liver system, stem cell research and engineered liver tissue which could contribute to regenerative cell therapies or drug discovery and development.
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Key Words
- A1AT, Alpha 1-antitrypsin
- AFP, α-fetoprotein
- CK 7, Cytokeratin 7
- CK-19, Cytokeratin 19
- CPY3A1, Cytochrome P450 3A 1
- EROD, Ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase
- GaIN, D-galactosamine
- HGF, Hepatocyte growth factor
- IL-6, Interleukin 6
- MROD, Methoxyresorufin O-demethylase
- Matrigel
- PROD, Pentoxyresorufin O-depentylase
- TNF-α, Tumor necrosis factor alpha
- Thy1, Thy-1 cell surface antigen
- bioreactor
- defined culture conditions
- hepatic stem cells
- nanostructured self assembling peptides
- rHuEPO, Recombinant human erythropoietin
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Affiliation(s)
- Shibashish Giri
- Department of Cell Techniques and Applied Stem Cell Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Biomedicine (BBZ), University of Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5, 04103 Leipzig, Germany,Address for correspondence: Shibashish Giri, Department of Cell Techniques and Applied Stem Cell Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Medical faculty, University of Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Ali Acikgöz
- Department of Cell Techniques and Applied Stem Cell Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Biomedicine (BBZ), University of Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5, 04103 Leipzig, Germany,Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Klinikum St Georg, Delitzscher Straße, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Augustinus Bader
- Department of Cell Techniques and Applied Stem Cell Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Biomedicine (BBZ), University of Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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22
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Diehl AM. Prometheus and progenitors. Hepatology 2015; 61:1427-9. [PMID: 25545250 PMCID: PMC4376571 DOI: 10.1002/hep.27676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Mae Diehl
- Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27710
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23
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Hsieh WC, Mackinnon AC, Lu WY, Jung J, Boulter L, Henderson NC, Simpson KJ, Schotanus B, Wojtacha D, Bird TG, Medine CN, Hay DC, Sethi T, Iredale JP, Forbes SJ. Galectin-3 regulates hepatic progenitor cell expansion during liver injury. Gut 2015; 64:312-21. [PMID: 24837171 DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2013-306290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Following chronic liver injury or when hepatocyte proliferation is impaired, ductular reactions containing hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) appear in the periportal regions and can regenerate the liver parenchyma. HPCs exist in a niche composed of myofibroblasts, macrophages and laminin matrix. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a β-galactoside-binding lectin that binds to laminin and is expressed in injured liver in mice and humans. DESIGN We examined the role of Gal-3 in HPC activation. HPC activation was studied following dietary induced hepatocellular (choline-deficient ethionine-supplemented diet) and biliary (3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine supplemented diet) injury in wild type and Gal-3(-/-) mice. RESULTS HPC proliferation was significantly reduced in Gal-3(-/-) mice. Gal-3(-/-) mice failed to form a HPC niche, with reduced laminin formation. HPCs isolated from wild type mice secrete Gal-3 which enhanced adhesion and proliferation of HPCs on laminin in an undifferentiated form. These effects were attenuated in Gal3(-/-) HPCs and in wild type HPCs treated with the Gal-3 inhibitor lactose. Gal-3(-/-) HPCs in vitro showed increased hepatocyte function and prematurely upregulated both biliary and hepatocyte differentiation markers and regulated cell cycle genes leading to arrest in G0/G1. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that Gal-3 is required for the undifferentiated expansion of HPCs in their niche in injured liver.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Chen Hsieh
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Alison C Mackinnon
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Wei-Yu Lu
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Jonathan Jung
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Luke Boulter
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Neil C Henderson
- MRC/Centre for Inflammation Research, The Queen's Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Baukje Schotanus
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Davina Wojtacha
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Tom G Bird
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Claire N Medine
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - David C Hay
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Tariq Sethi
- Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, Kings College Denmark Hill Campus, London, UK
| | - John P Iredale
- Department of Hepatology, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Stuart J Forbes
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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24
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Yu B, He ZY, You P, Han QW, Xiang D, Chen F, Wang MJ, Liu CC, Lin XW, Borjigin U, Zi XY, Li JX, Zhu HY, Li WL, Han CS, Wangensteen KJ, Shi Y, Hui LJ, Wang X, Hu YP. Reprogramming fibroblasts into bipotential hepatic stem cells by defined factors. Cell Stem Cell 2013; 13:328-40. [PMID: 23871605 DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2013.06.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2012] [Revised: 05/20/2013] [Accepted: 06/24/2013] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies have demonstrated direct reprogramming of fibroblasts into a range of somatic cell types, but to date stem or progenitor cells have only been reprogrammed for the blood and neuronal lineages. We previously reported generation of induced hepatocyte-like (iHep) cells by transduction of Gata4, Hnf1α, and Foxa3 in p19 Arf null mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Here, we show that Hnf1β and Foxa3, liver organogenesis transcription factors, are sufficient to reprogram MEFs into induced hepatic stem cells (iHepSCs). iHepSCs can be stably expanded in vitro and possess the potential of bidirectional differentiation into both hepatocytic and cholangiocytic lineages. In the injured liver of fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (Fah)-deficient mice, repopulating iHepSCs become hepatocyte-like cells. They also engraft as cholangiocytes into bile ducts of mice with DDC-induced bile ductular injury. Lineage conversion into bipotential expandable iHepSCs provides a strategy to enable efficient derivation of both hepatocytes and cholangiocytes for use in disease modeling and tissue engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Yu
- Department of Cell Biology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
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25
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Wan Z, Zhang XG, Liu ZW, Lv Y. Therapeutic liver repopulation for metabolic liver diseases: Advances from bench to bedside. Hepatol Res 2013; 43:122-30. [PMID: 22971121 DOI: 10.1111/j.1872-034x.2012.01081.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2012] [Revised: 07/20/2012] [Accepted: 07/23/2012] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Metabolic liver diseases are characterized by inherited defects in hepatic enzymes or other proteins with metabolic functions. Therapeutic liver repopulation (TLR), an approach of massive liver replacement by transplanted normal hepatocytes, could be used to provide the missing metabolic function elegantly. However, partial and transient correction of the underlying metabolic defects due to very few integrated donor cell mass remains the major obstacle for the effective and widespread use of this approach. Little engraftment and proliferation insufficiency lead to the poor outcome. This article reviews the advances in the mechanisms of initial engraftment and selective proliferation and suggests some effective treatment strategies, from pharmacological preconditioning to stem cell transplantation, to optimize liver repopulation with liver cell transplantation. Enhancing cell viability and plating efficiency, increasing sinusoidal spaces, regulation of sinusoidal endothelial cell barrier and controlling inflammatory reaction may promote initial cell engraftment. Liver-directed irradiation, reversible portal vein embolization and fetal liver stem/progenitor cell transplantation induce preferential proliferation of donor cells substantially without severe side-effects. Furthermore, it seems better to use combined approaches to achieve a high level of liver repopulation for the management of metabolic liver diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Wan
- Hepatobiliary Surgery; Institute of Advanced Surgical Techniques and Tissue Engineering Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
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26
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Wu K, Ding J, Chen C, Sun W, Ning BF, Wen W, Huang L, Han T, Yang W, Wang C, Li Z, Wu MC, Feng GS, Xie WF, Wang HY. Hepatic transforming growth factor beta gives rise to tumor-initiating cells and promotes liver cancer development. Hepatology 2012; 56:2255-67. [PMID: 22898879 DOI: 10.1002/hep.26007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2011] [Accepted: 07/07/2012] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Liver cirrhosis is a predominant risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the mechanism underlying the progression from cirrhosis to HCC remains unclear. Herein we report the concurrent increase of liver progenitor cells (LPCs) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) in diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced rat hepatocarcinogenesis and cirrhotic livers of HCC patients. Using several experimental approaches, including 2-acetylaminofluorene/partial hepatectomy (2-AAF/PHx) and 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine (DDC)-elicited murine liver regeneration, we found that activation of LPCs in the absence of TGF-β induction was insufficient to trigger hepatocarcinogenesis. Moreover, a small fraction of LPCs was detected to coexpress tumor initiating cell (T-IC) markers during rat hepatocarcinogenesis and in human HCCs, and TGF-β levels were positively correlated with T-IC marker expression, which indicates a role of TGF-β in T-IC generation. Rat pluripotent LPC-like WB-F344 cells were exposed to low doses of TGF-β for 18 weeks imitating the enhanced TGF-β expression in cirrhotic liver. Interestingly, long-term treatment of TGF-β on WB-F344 cells impaired their LPC potential but granted them T-IC properties including expression of T-IC markers, increased self-renewal capacity, stronger chemoresistance, and tumorigenicity in NOD-SCID mice. Hyperactivation of Akt but not Notch, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), or mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) was detected in TGF-β-treated WB-F344 cells. Introduction of the dominant-negative mutant of Akt significantly attenuated T-IC properties of those transformed WB-F344 cells, indicating Akt was required in TGF-β-mediated-generation of hepatic T-ICs. We further demonstrate that TGF-β-induced Akt activation and LPC transformation was mediated by microRNA-216a-modulated phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) suppression. CONCLUSION Hepatoma-initiating cells may derive from hepatic progenitor cells exposed to chronic and constant TGF-β stimulation in cirrhotic liver, and pharmaceutical inhibition of microRNA-216a/PTEN/Akt signaling could be a novel strategy for HCC prevention and therapy targeting hepatic T-ICs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kun Wu
- International Cooperation Laboratory on Signal Transduction, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
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27
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Zhang M, Zhong Y, Chen J. Model systems and clinical applications of hepatic stem cells for liver regeneration. Hepatol Int 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s12072-011-9323-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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28
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Xu J, Sasaki M, Harada K, Sato Y, Ikeda H, Kim JH, Yu E, Nakanuma Y. Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma arising in chronic advanced liver disease and the cholangiocarcinomatous component of hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma share common phenotypes and cholangiocarcinogenesis. Histopathology 2011; 59:1090-9. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2559.2011.04058.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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29
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Qiu Q, Hernandez JC, Dean AM, Rao PH, Darlington GJ. CD24-positive cells from normal adult mouse liver are hepatocyte progenitor cells. Stem Cells Dev 2011; 20:2177-88. [PMID: 21361791 DOI: 10.1089/scd.2010.0352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The identification of specific cell surface markers that can be used to isolate liver progenitor cells will greatly facilitate experimentation to determine the role of these cells in liver regeneration and their potential for therapeutic transplantation. Previously, the cell surface marker, CD24, was observed to be expressed on undifferentiated bipotential mouse embryonic liver stem cells and 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine-induced oval cells. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of a rare, primary, nonhematopoietic, CD24+ progenitor cell population from normal, untreated mouse liver. By immunohistochemistry, CD24-expressing cells in normal adult mouse liver were colocalized with CK19-positive cholangiocytes. This nonhematopoietic (CD45-, Ter119-) CD24+ cell population isolated by flow cytometry represented 0.04% of liver cells and expressed several markers of liver progenitor/oval cells. The immunophenotype of nonhematopoietic CD24+ cells was CD133, Dlk, and Sca-1 high, but c-Kit, Thy-1, and CD34 low. The CD24+ cells had increased expression of CK19, epithelial cell adhesion molecule, Sox 9, and FN14 compared with the unsorted cells. Upon transplantation of nonhematopoietic CD24+ cells under the sub-capsule of the livers of Fah knockout mice, cells differentiated into mature functional hepatocytes. Analysis of X and Y chromosome complements were used to determine whether or not fusion of the engrafted cells with the recipient hepatocytes occurred. No cells were found that contained XXXY or any other combination of donor and host sex chromosomes as would be expected if cell fusion had occurred. These results suggested that CD24 can be used as a cell surface marker for isolation of hepatocyte progenitor cells from normal adult liver that are able to differentiate into hepatocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiong Qiu
- Huffington Center on Aging, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
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30
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He Z, Feng M. Activation, isolation, identification and culture of hepatic stem cells from porcine liver tissues. Cell Prolif 2011; 44:558-66. [PMID: 21988556 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2184.2011.00781.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Utility of hepatic stem cells could provide a novel solution to the severe shortage of human donor livers, for treatment of liver-related diseases, due to their ability to proliferate and differentiate into functional hepatocytes. Porcine liver tissues also offer an alternative source from human donor livers. However, morphology, phenotype, successful isolation and culture of porcine hepatic stem cells still require much investigation. MATERIALS AND METHODS In the present study, we performed partial hepatectomy to activate hepatic oval cells and developed a procedure utilizing enzymatic digestion and density gradient centrifugation to isolate and purify oval cells derived from porcine livers. We identified ovoid cells by their morphological characteristics and phenotypic properties, thereby providing definitive evidence for the presence of hepatic stem cells in porcine livers. Moreover, we established a culture system, using various growth factors, to provide nourishment for these cells. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS By transmission electron microscopy, oval-shaped cells with ovoid nuclei, a high nucleus/cytoplasm ratio and few organelles were demonstrated. Flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry showed that freshly isolated oval cells expressed albumin, cytokeratin 19, alpha fetoprotein (AFP) and OV6 at high levels. Immunofluorescence revealed that porcine hepatic oval cells after culture expressed stem-cell factor, c-kit, Thy-1, CK19, OV6, and AFP. Taken together, this study provides a novel insight into morphological and phenotypic characteristics of porcine hepatic stem cells. Our ability for isolation and culturing porcine hepatic stem cells offers an abundant source of cells for transplantation and tissue engineering to help alleviate liver disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z He
- State Key Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Biotechnology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
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31
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Trebol Lopez J, Georgiev Hristov T, García-Arranz M, García-Olmo D. Stem Cell Therapy for Digestive Tract Diseases: Current State and Future Perspectives. Stem Cells Dev 2011; 20:1113-29. [DOI: 10.1089/scd.2010.0277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jacobo Trebol Lopez
- General and Digestive Tract Surgery Department, University Hospital “La Paz”, Madrid, Spain
- Cell Therapy Laboratory, Investigation Institute IdiPAZ, University Hospital “La Paz”, Madrid, Spain
| | - Tihomir Georgiev Hristov
- General and Digestive Tract Surgery Department, University Hospital “La Paz”, Madrid, Spain
- Cell Therapy Laboratory, Investigation Institute IdiPAZ, University Hospital “La Paz”, Madrid, Spain
| | - Mariano García-Arranz
- Cell Therapy Laboratory, Investigation Institute IdiPAZ, University Hospital “La Paz”, Madrid, Spain
| | - Damián García-Olmo
- General and Digestive Tract Surgery Department, University Hospital “La Paz”, Madrid, Spain
- Cell Therapy Laboratory, Investigation Institute IdiPAZ, University Hospital “La Paz”, Madrid, Spain
- Surgery Department, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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32
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Yang DW, Yao P. Cell transplantation for hepatic disease: current research status. Shijie Huaren Xiaohua Zazhi 2011; 19:1720-1725. [DOI: 10.11569/wcjd.v19.i16.1720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell transplantation is a promising way to restore liver function. Treatment of end-stage liver disease with stem cells, especially bone marrow stem cells, has attracted wild attention. There is ongoing research to use mature hepatocytes, liver progenitor cells, bone marrow stem cells and embryonic stem cells to restore liver function in patient with hepatic disease. Here we review the current research status of cell transplantation for hepatic disease in terms of cell biology, animal models and clinical trials.
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33
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A potential role for the homeoprotein Hhex in hepatocellular carcinoma progression. Med Oncol 2011; 29:1059-67. [PMID: 21656028 DOI: 10.1007/s12032-011-9989-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2011] [Accepted: 05/14/2011] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common primary malignant tumor of the liver, often associated with the dysregulation of transcriptional pathways involved in cell growth and differentiation. The hematopoietically expressed homeobox protein (Hhex) is an important transcription factor throughout liver development and is essential to liver bud formation and hepatoblast differentiation. Here, we report a relationship between Hhex expression and HCC. First, adenovirus-mediated Hhex delivery into the hepatoma cell line, Hepa1-6, resulted in decreased expression of several proto-oncogenes (c-Jun and Bcl2), increased expression of some tumor suppressor genes (P53 and Rb), and enhanced expression of a cluster of hepatocytic and bile ductular markers. Second, Hhex expression significantly attenuated Hepa1-6 tumorigenicity in nude mice. Third, we report a correlation between Hhex expression and the differentiation state of human HCC. In 24 cases of clinical specimens, there was a significant difference in Hhex expression between poorly differentiated HCC and well-differentiated HCC (P < 0.001). Taken together, these results indicate that Hhex is a potential candidate molecular marker for HCC pathological evaluation, suggesting a need to evaluate Hhex as a potential target for therapeutic intervention.
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34
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Human adipose-derived stem cells: Isolation, characterization and current application in regeneration medicine. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gmbhs.2011.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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35
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Caperna TJ, Blomberg LA, Garrett WM, Talbot NC. Culture of porcine hepatocytes or bile duct epithelial cells by inductive serum-free media. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim 2011; 47:218-33. [PMID: 21298557 DOI: 10.1007/s11626-010-9382-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2010] [Accepted: 11/22/2010] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
A serum-free, feeder cell-dependent, selective culture system for the long-term culture of porcine hepatocytes or cholangiocytes was developed. Liver cells were isolated from 1-wk-old pigs or young adult pigs (25 and 63 kg live weight) and were placed in primary culture on feeder cell layers of mitotically blocked mouse fibroblasts. In serum-free medium containing 1% DMSO and 1 μM dexamethasone, confluent monolayers of hepatocytes formed and could be maintained for several wk. Light and electron microscopic analysis showed hepatocytes with in vivo-like morphology, and many hepatocytes were sandwiched between the feeder cells. When isolated liver cells were cultured in medium without dexamethasone but with 0.5% DMSO, monolayers of cholangioctyes formed that subsequently self-organized into networks of multicellular ductal structures, and whose cells had monocilia projecting into the lumen of the duct. Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) was expressed by the cholangiocytes at their apical membranes, i.e., at the inner surface of the ducts. Cellular GGT activity increased concomitantly with the development of ductal structures. Cytochrome P-450 was determined in microsomes following addition of metyrapone to the cultures. In vivo-like levels of P-450s were found in hepatocyte monolayers while levels of P-450 were markedly reduced in cholangiocyte monolayers. Serum protein secretion in conditioned media was analyzed by Western blot and indicated that albumin, transferrin, and haptoglobin levels were maintained in hepatocytes while albumin and haptoglobin declined over time in cholangiocytes. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that serum protein mRNA levels were significantly elevated in the hepatocytes monolayers in comparison to the bile ductule-containing monolayers. Further, mRNAs specific to cholangiocyte differentiation and function were significantly elevated in bile ductule monolayers in comparison to hepatocyte monolayers. The results demonstrate an in vitro model for the study of either porcine hepatocytes or cholangiocytes with in vivo-like morphology and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Caperna
- US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, ANRI, Animal Biosciences and Biotechnology Laboratory, Bldg 200, Rm 201, BARC-East, 10300 Baltimore Blvd, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA.
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36
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Su J, You P, Li WL, Tao XR, Zhu HY, Yao YC, Yu HY, Han QW, Yu B, Liu FX, Xu J, Lau JTY, Hu YP. The existence of multipotent stem cells with epithelial-mesenchymal transition features in the human liver bud. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2010; 42:2047-55. [PMID: 20884372 PMCID: PMC2975744 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2010.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2010] [Revised: 09/09/2010] [Accepted: 09/20/2010] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
During early stage of embryonic development, the liver bud, arising from the foregut endoderm, is the beginning for the formation of future liver three-dimensional structure. While the gene expression profiles associated with this developmental stage have been well explored, the detailed cellular events are not as clear. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was thought to be essential for cell migration in the early vertebrate embryo but seldom demonstrated in human liver development. In this study, we tried to identify the cell populations with both stem cell and EMT features in the human liver bud. Our in situ studies show that the phenotype of EMT occurs at initiation of human liver development, accompanied by up-regulation of EMT associated genes. A human liver bud derived stem cell line (hLBSC) was established, which expressed not only genes specific to both mesenchymal cells and hepatic cells, but also octamer-binding protein 4 (OCT4) and nanog. Placed in appropriate media, hLBSC differentiated into hepatocytes, adipocytes, osteoblast-like cells and neuron-like cells in vitro. When transplanted into severe combined immunodeficiency mice pre-treated by carbon tetrachloride, hLBSC engrafted into the liver parenchyma and proliferated. These data suggests that there are cell populations with stem cell and EMT-like properties in the human liver bud, which may play an important role in the beginning of the spatial structure construction of the liver.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Su
- Department of Cell Biology, Second Military Medical University, Xiangyin Rd. 800, Shanghai 200433, PR China
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37
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Li F, Lu L, Lu J. Identification and location of label retaining cells in mouse liver. J Gastroenterol 2010; 45:113-21. [PMID: 19802517 DOI: 10.1007/s00535-009-0139-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2008] [Accepted: 09/03/2009] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In most somatic tissues, adult stem cells are crucial for the maintenance of tissue homeostasis under normal physiological states and during recovery from injuries. Label retaining cell (LRC) assay remains the well-known method to identify possible somatic stem/progenitor cells and their location both in situ and in vivo. METHODS Here, BrdU was used to tag the possible hepatic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) in newborn pups, followed by a trace period of up to 23 months. Additionally, we report a method to rapidly kill proliferating cells in adult liver tissue, and activate and label (KAL) surviving possible HSPCs. RESULTS We found that LRCs definitively exist in the liver tissues of adult mice, that LRCs express cell cycle proteins cyclind3 and cdk6, but do not express sca-1 or c-kit, and that LRCs locate primarily in the periportal and pericentral regions. Moreover, the number of these LRCs remains nearly constant during the lifespan of the mice. After injury induced by 5-fluorouracil, we observed that the activation of possible HSPCs tagged by the BrdU label was almost completely inhibited at day 4. The cellular kinetics of repair of BrdU-tagged HSPCs were different every 12 h between day 3 and day 4. Moreover, HSPCs still retained labels and located definitively in the periportal region after a prolonged chase. CONCLUSIONS The LRC method together with our novel KAL method reported here may be used to identify and locate possible HSPCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fusheng Li
- Institute of Biochemistry, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, 310018 Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
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Song L, Wang H, Gao X, Shen K, Niu W, Qin X. Proliferation and differentiation potential of mouse adult hepatic progenitor cells cultured in vitro. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai) 2010; 42:122-8. [PMID: 20119623 DOI: 10.1093/abbs/gmp112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to isolate the stem cells or progenitors, if exist, from normal adult mouse liver and investigate their potential of proliferation and differentiation. Hepatocytes were isolated by modified two-step liver perfusion method and centrifugation, and then cultured in modified serumcontaining DMEM for observation more than 60 days. Immunofluorescence technique was applied to check the hepatocytes and to examine the formation of colonies with albumin, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and cytokeratin 19 (CK19). Results showed that some hepatocytes that were strongly positive for hepatocyte specific markers albumin on Day 1 in culture, could be activated at Days 2-3, followed by rapid proliferation and formation of colonies. The colonies could expand continually for more than 60 days. On Day 5, all the cells in the colony expressed hepatic stem cell (HSC) markers AFP. With the time of culture, some cells in colonies lost ability to divide at Days 13-15, and differentiated into cells which had a large cytoplasm and some two nuclei, similar to the appearance of mature hepatocytes morphologically. These differentiated cells demonstrated strong expression of albumin. Around Day 30, some big cells appeared in colonies and expressed bile duct cell marker CK19. Therefore, this subpopulation of mouse hepatocytes could acquire some characteristics of immature hepatocytes and showed the profile of hepatic progenitor cells with a high proliferating ability and bi-potential of differentiation. They were isolated from normal adult mouse, hence, named adult hepatic progenitor cells (AHPCs). Mouse AHPCs may be used as an HSC model for hepatocytes transplantation and hepatopathy study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lujun Song
- Department of General Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Institute of General Surgery, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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Kamiya A, Kakinuma S, Yamazaki Y, Nakauchi H. Enrichment and clonal culture of progenitor cells during mouse postnatal liver development in mice. Gastroenterology 2009; 137:1114-26, 1126.e1-14. [PMID: 19524574 DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2009.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2008] [Revised: 06/03/2009] [Accepted: 06/08/2009] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Stem and progenitor cells exist in normal postnatal livers. However, it has not been possible to clonally isolate or analyze postnatal liver stem/progenitor-like cells (PLSCs) derived from noninjured livers because of a lack of specific surface markers. This study aimed to establish a primary culture system for clone-sorted PLSCs. METHODS To investigate proliferation and differentiation of PLSCs, subpopulations of nonparenchymal cells derived from noninjured livers were purified and cultured using a single-cell culture system. Cells were grown in fetal liver cell-derived conditioned medium in the presence of the Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) inhibitor Y-27632. RESULTS We identified CD13 and CD133 as markers expressed on the PLSC-containing population in noninjured livers and established an efficient single-cell culture system to clonally analyze PLSCs. Culture of PLSCs is difficult, even using conditioned medium, but the addition of Y-27632 increased PLSC cell proliferation. The proportion of progenitor cells among nonparenchymal cells decreased during postnatal liver development; however, a PLSC population was still preserved in 3-month-old mice. Long-term cultivated cells derived from clone-sorted cells in normal livers were established and were called normal-liver-derived stem-like cells (NLS cells). NLS cells could differentiate into hepatocyte-like and cholangiocyte-like cells under appropriate culture conditions and underwent self-renewal-like activity in serial reclone-sorted culture. CD13 and CD133 were expressed on progenitor cells derived from fetal and postnatal liver, whereas CD49f (integrin alpha6 subunit) was strongly expressed only on PLSCs. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate the presence of progenitor cells in the CD13(+)CD49f(+)CD133(+) subpopulation of nonhematopoietic cells derived from noninjured postnatal livers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akihide Kamiya
- Division of Stem Cell Therapy, Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
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Snykers S, De Kock J, Rogiers V, Vanhaecke T. In vitro differentiation of embryonic and adult stem cells into hepatocytes: state of the art. Stem Cells 2009; 27:577-605. [PMID: 19056906 PMCID: PMC2729674 DOI: 10.1634/stemcells.2008-0963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 190] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Stem cells are a unique source of self-renewing cells within the human body. Before the end of the last millennium, adult stem cells, in contrast to their embryonic counterparts, were considered to be lineage-restricted cells or incapable of crossing lineage boundaries. However, the unique breakthrough of muscle and liver regeneration by adult bone marrow stem cells at the end of the 1990s ended this long-standing paradigm. Since then, the number of articles reporting the existence of multipotent stem cells in skin, neuronal tissue, adipose tissue, and bone marrow has escalated, giving rise, both in vivo and in vitro, to cell types other than their tissue of origin. The phenomenon of fate reprogrammation and phenotypic diversification remains, though, an enigmatic and rare process. Understanding how to control both proliferation and differentiation of stem cells and their progeny is a challenge in many fields, going from preclinical drug discovery and development to clinical therapy. In this review, we focus on current strategies to differentiate embryonic, mesenchymal(-like), and liver stem/progenitor cells into hepatocytes in vitro. Special attention is paid to intracellular and extracellular signaling, genetic modification, and cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. In addition, some recommendations are proposed to standardize, optimize, and enrich the in vitro production of hepatocyte-like cells out of stem/progenitor cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Snykers
- Department of Toxicology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.
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41
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Souza BSDF, Nogueira RC, de Oliveira SA, de Freitas LAR, Lyra LGC, Ribeiro dos Santos R, Lyra AC, Soares MBP. Current status of stem cell therapy for liver diseases. Cell Transplant 2009; 18:1261-79. [PMID: 19660179 DOI: 10.3727/096368909x470522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Liver failure is one of the main causes of death worldwide and is a growing health problem. Since the discovery of stem cell populations capable of differentiating into specialized cell types, including hepatocytes, the possibility of their utilization in the regeneration of the damaged liver has been a focus of intense investigation. A variety of cell types were tested both in vitro and in vivo, but the definition of a more suitable cell preparation for therapeutic use in each type of liver lesions is yet to be determined. Here we review the protocols described for differentiation of stem cells into hepatocytes, the results of cell therapy in animal models of liver diseases, as well as the available data of the clinical trials in patients with advanced chronic liver disease.
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Alison MR, Islam S, Lim S. Stem cells in liver regeneration, fibrosis and cancer: the good, the bad and the ugly. J Pathol 2009; 217:282-98. [PMID: 18991329 DOI: 10.1002/path.2453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 178] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The worldwide shortage of donor livers to transplant end stage liver disease patients has prompted the search for alternative cell therapies for intractable liver diseases, such as acute liver failure, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Under normal circumstances the liver undergoes a low rate of hepatocyte 'wear and tear' renewal, but can mount a brisk regenerative response to the acute loss of two-thirds or more of the parenchymal mass. A body of evidence favours placement of a stem cell niche in the periportal regions, although the identity of such stem cells in rodents and man is far from clear. In animal models of liver disease, adopting strategies to provide a selective advantage for transplanted hepatocytes has proved highly effective in repopulating recipient livers, but the poor success of today's hepatocyte transplants can be attributed to the lack of a clinically applicable procedure to force a similar repopulation of the human liver. The activation of bipotential hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) is clearly vital for survival in many cases of acute liver failure, and the signals that promote such reactions are being elucidated. Bone marrow cells (BMCs) make, at best, a trivial contribution to hepatocyte replacement after damage, but other BMCs contribute to the hepatic collagen-producing cell population, resulting in fibrotic disease; paradoxically, BMC transplantation may help alleviate established fibrotic disease. HCC may have its origins in either hepatocytes or HPCs, and HCCs, like other solid tumours appear to be sustained by a minority population of cancer stem cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- M R Alison
- Centre for Diabetes and Metabolic Medicine, St Bartholomew's Hospital and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK.
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Cell transplantation to restore liver function as an alternative to whole liver transplantation has thus far not been successful in humans. RECENT FINDINGS Adult mature hepatocytes and various populations of liver progenitors and stem cells are being studied for their regenerative capabilities. Hepatocyte transplantation to treat metabolic deficiencies has shown promising early improvement in liver function; however, long-term success has not been achieved. Liver progenitor cells can now be identified and were shown to be capable to differentiate into a hepatocyte-like phenotype. Despite evidence of mesenchymal stem cell fusion in animal models of liver regeneration, encouraging results were seen in a small group of patients receiving autologous transplantation of CD133 mesenchymal stem cells to repopulate the liver after extensive hepatectomy for liver masses. Ethical issues, availability, potential rejection and limited understanding of the totipotent capabilities of embryonic stem cells are the limitations that prevent their use for restoration of liver function. The effectiveness of embryonic stem cells to support liver function has been proven with their application in the bioartificial liver model in rodents. SUMMARY There is ongoing research to restore liver function in cell biology, animal models and clinical trials using mature hepatocytes, liver progenitor cells, mesenchymal stem cells and embryonic stem cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanya R Flohr
- Department of Surgery, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, USA
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Szlávik V, Szabó B, Vicsek T, Barabás J, Bogdán S, Gresz V, Varga G, O'Connell B, Vág J. Differentiation of primary human submandibular gland cells cultured on basement membrane extract. Tissue Eng Part A 2009; 14:1915-26. [PMID: 18721074 DOI: 10.1089/ten.tea.2007.0208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
There is no effective treatment for the loss of functional salivary tissue after irradiation for head and neck cancer or the autoimmune disease Sjögren's syndrome. One possible approach is the regeneration of salivary glands from stem cells. The present study aimed to investigate whether small pieces of human submandiblar gland tissue contain elements necessary for the reconstruction of salivary rudiments in vitro via acinar and ductal cell differentiation. Primary submandibular gland (primary total human salivary gland; PTHSG) cells were isolated from human tissue and cultured in vitro using a new method in which single cells form an expanding epithelial monolayer on plastic substrates. Differentiation, morphology, number, and organization of these cells were then followed on basement membrane extract (BME) using RNA quantitation (amylase, claudin-1 (CLN1), CLN3, kallikrein, vimentin), immunohistochemistry (amylase and occludin), viability assay, and videomicroscopy. On the surface of BME, PTHSG cells formed acinotubular structures within 24 h, did not proliferate, and stained for amylase. In cultures derived from half of the donors, the acinar markers amylase and CLN3 were upregulated. The PTHSG culture model suggests that human salivary gland may be capable of regeneration via reorganization and differentiation and that basement membrane components play a crucial role in the morphological and functional differentiation of salivary cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanda Szlávik
- Department of Oral Biology, Semmelweis University and Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
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Hirata M, Amano K, Miyashita A, Yasunaga M, Nakanishi T, Sato K. Establishment and characterization of hepatic stem-like cell lines from normal adult rat liver. J Biochem 2008; 145:51-8. [PMID: 18977772 DOI: 10.1093/jb/mvn146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The liver is a unique organ with the potential to regenerate from injury. Hepatic stem cells contribute to liver regeneration when surviving hepatocytes in injured liver are unable to proliferate. To investigate the mechanism of liver regeneration in vitro, we established hepatic stem cell lines named HY1, HY2 and HY3, derived from a healthy liver of adult rat. HY cells showed an expression pattern similar to oval cells, and efficiently induced hepatic differentiation following sequential treatment with type I collagen, transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1), and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) or oncostatin M (OSM). These results suggested that HY cells are liver stem cells representing an excellent tool for in vitro studies on liver regeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitsuhi Hirata
- Division of Molecular Biology, School of Life Science, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, 86 Nishicho, Yonago 683-8503, Japan
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Sharma AD, Cantz T, Vogel A, Schambach A, Haridass D, Iken M, Bleidissel M, Manns MP, Schöler HR, Ott M. Murine embryonic stem cell-derived hepatic progenitor cells engraft in recipient livers with limited capacity of liver tissue formation. Cell Transplant 2008; 17:313-23. [PMID: 18522234 DOI: 10.3727/096368908784153896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Directed endodermal differentiation of murine embryonic stem (ES) cells gives rise to a subset of cells with a hepatic phenotype. Such ES cell-derived hepatic progenitor cells (ES-HPC) can acquire features of hepatocytes in vitro, but fail to form substantial hepatocyte clusters in vivo. In this study, we investigated whether this is due to inefficient engraftment or an immature phenotype of ES-HPC. ES cells engrafted into recipient livers of NOD/SCID mice with a similar efficacy as adult hepatocytes after 28 days. Because transplanted unpurified ES-HPC formed teratomas in the spleen and liver, we applied an albumin promoter/enhancer-driven reporter system to purify ES-HPC by cell sorting. RT-PCR analyses for hepatocyte-specific genes showed that the cells exhibited a hepatic phenotype, lacking the expression of the pluripotency marker Oct4, comparable to cells of day 11.5 embryos. Sorted ES-HPC derived from beta-galactosidase transgenic ES cells were injected into fumaryl-acetoacetate-deficient (FAH(-/-)) SCID mice and analyzed after 8 to 12 weeks. Staining with X-gal solution revealed the presence of engrafted cells throughout the liver. However, immunostaining for the FAH protein indicated hepatocyte formation at a very low frequency, without evidence for large hepatocyte cluster formation. In conclusion, the limited repopulation capacity of ES-HPC is not caused by a failure of primary engraftment, but may be due to an immature hepatic phenotype of the transplanted ES-HPC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amar Deep Sharma
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
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Jin CX, Li WL, Xu F, Geng ZH, He ZY, Su J, Tao XR, Ding XY, Wang X, Hu YP. Conversion of immortal liver progenitor cells into pancreatic endocrine progenitor cells by persistent expression of Pdx-1. J Cell Biochem 2008; 104:224-36. [PMID: 17979180 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.21617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
The conversion of expandable liver progenitor cells into pancreatic beta cells would provide a renewable cell source for diabetes cell therapy. Previously, we reported the establishment of liver epithelial progenitor cells (LEPCs). In this work, LEPCs were modified into EGFP/Pdx-1 LEPCs, cells with stable expression of both Pdx-1 and EGFP. Unlike previous work, with persistent expression of Pdx-1, EGFP/Pdx-1 LEPCs acquired the phenotype of pancreatic endocrine progenitor cells rather than giving rise to insulin-producing cells directly. EGFP/Pdx-1 LEPCs proliferated vigorously and expressed the crucial transcription factors involved in beta cell development, including Ngn3, NeuroD, Nkx2.2, Nkx6.1, Pax4, Pax6, Isl1, MafA and endogenous Pdx-1, but did not secrete insulin. When cultured in high glucose/low serum medium supplemented with cytokines, EGFP/Pdx-1 LEPCs stopped proliferating and gave rise to functional beta cells without any evidence of exocrine or other islet cell lineage differentiation. When transplanted into diabetic SCID mice, EGFP/Pdx-1 LEPCs ameliorated hyperglycemia by secreting insulin in a glucose regulated manner. Considering the limited availability of beta cells, we propose that our experiments will provide a framework for utilizing the immortal liver progenitor cells as a renewable cell source for the generation of functional pancreatic beta cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cai-Xia Jin
- Department of Cell Biology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, P. R. China
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Reprogramming of pancreatic beta cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. Curr Biol 2008; 18:890-4. [PMID: 18501604 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 271] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2008] [Revised: 05/02/2008] [Accepted: 05/07/2008] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have been derived from fibroblast, stomach, and liver cultures at extremely low frequencies by ectopic expression of the transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, c-myc, and Klf4, a process coined direct or in vitro reprogramming [1-8]. iPS cells are molecularly and functionally highly similar to embryonic stem cells (ESCs), including their ability to contribute to all tissues as well as the germline in mice. The heterogeneity of the starting cell populations and the low efficiency of reprogramming suggested that a rare cell type, such as an adult stem cell, might be the cell of origin for iPS cells and that differentiated cells are refractory to reprogramming. Here, we used inducible lentiviruses [9] to express Oct4, Sox2, c-myc, and Klf4 in pancreatic beta cells to assess whether a defined terminally differentiated cell type remains amenable to reprogramming. Genetically marked beta cells gave rise to iPS cells that expressed pluripotency markers, formed teratomas, and contributed to cell types of all germ layers in chimeric animals. Our results provide genetic proof that terminally differentiated cells can be reprogrammed into pluripotent cells, suggesting that in vitro reprogramming is not restricted to certain cell types or differentiation stages.
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Cantz T, Manns MP, Ott M. Stem cells in liver regeneration and therapy. Cell Tissue Res 2008; 331:271-82. [PMID: 17901986 PMCID: PMC2757593 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-007-0483-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2007] [Accepted: 07/18/2007] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The liver has adapted to the inflow of ingested toxins by the evolutionary development of unique regenerative properties and responds to injury or tissue loss by the rapid division of mature cells. Proliferation of the parenchymal cells, i.e. hepatocytes and epithelial cells of the bile duct, is regulated by numerous cytokine/growth-factor-mediated pathways and is synchronised with extracellular matrix degradation and restoration of the vasculature. Resident hepatic stem/progenitor cells have also been identified in small numbers in normal liver and implicated in liver tissue repair. Their putative role in the physiology, pathophysiology and therapy of the liver, however, is not yet precisely known. Hepatic stem/progenitor cells also known as "oval cells" in rodents have been implicated in liver tissue repair, at a time when the capacity for hepatocyte and bile duct replication is exhausted or experimentally inhibited (facultative stem/progenitor cell pool). Although much more has to be learned about the role of stem/progenitor cells in the physiology and pathophysiology of the liver, experimental analysis of the therapeutic value of these cells has been initiated. Transplantation of hepatic stem/progenitor cells or in vivo pharmacological activation of the pool of hepatic stem cells may provide novel modalities for the therapy of liver diseases. In addition, extrahepatic stem cells (e.g. bone marrow cells) are being investigated for their contribution to liver regeneration. Hepatic progenitor cells derived from embryonic stem cells are included in this review, which also discusses future perspectives of stem cell-based therapies for liver diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Cantz
- Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Muenster, Germany
| | - Michael P. Manns
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Center of Internal Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Strasse 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Michael Ott
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Center of Internal Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Strasse 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
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Wright N, Samuelson L, Walkup MH, Chandrasekaran P, Gerber DA. Enrichment of a bipotent hepatic progenitor cell from naïve adult liver tissue. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2007; 366:367-72. [PMID: 18062915 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.11.129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2007] [Accepted: 11/19/2007] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM Recent interest in the liver stem cell field has led to the identification and characterization of several hepatic progenitor cell populations from fetal and adult tissues. We isolated a hepatic progenitor cell from naïve adult liver and the current studies focus on differentiation and growth. RESULTS A Sca-1(+) hepatic progenitor cell was identified within the liver parenchyma. This cell expresses numerous liver related genes and transcription found in the developing and/or adult liver. It is located in the peri-portal region and expresses markers associated with undifferentiated hepatic cell populations, mature hepatocytes and biliary cells which distinguish it from the Sca-1(-) fraction. CONCLUSION This hepatic progenitor cell from uninjured liver has features of both hepatocytic and biliary populations and demonstrates proliferative potential. Further studies will focus on sca-HPC subsets and conditions that regulate differentiation towards hepatic or biliary lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha Wright
- Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina, CB#7211, 4024 Burnett-Womack Building, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7211, USA
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