Hepatic stem cells to cure terminal liver diseases

Hepatic stem cells, produced by a patients' own cells, could possibly help cure end-stage liver diseases, a study led by Chinese scientists has shown. The four-year study on mice, led by Prof. Hu Yiping of the Department of Cell Biology under the Shanghai-based Second Military Medical University, has been published in the latest online version of the U.S. "Cell Stem Cell" journal, 18 July 2013 issue. The article, titled "Reprogramming Fibroblasts into Bipotential Hepatic Stem Cells by Defined Factors," marks a breakthrough in China's hepatic stem cells study, said a statement from Hu's team. Various liver diseases, including those at the terminal stage, would be curable by using the patients' own cells to produce hepatic stem cells and repopulating them into the patients' body, if the clinical research makes key progress, according to He Zhiying, an associate professor of the team. Although the number of original hepatic stem cells in human liver is small, they play an important role in maintaining the organ's structure and performance. Funded by the Chinese government, the research team reprogrammed fibroblasts and established a laboratory-based system of producing hepatic stem cells. The hepatic stem cells produced in this way can be augmented in the lab and then used to repair the injured liver, according to the statement. It added that the research result lays new foundations for liver disease treatment, development of new drugs and tissue engineering research. Prof. Hu started research on hepatic stem cells in the early 1990s and focused on the relation between the cells and liver diseases. He gradually realized that new cell therapy based on hepatic stem cells could be an effective cure for end-stage liver illnesses.