Liver Regeneration
Aug 29 2012
Role of nitric oxide in liver regeneration
Cristina E Carnovale, Maria T Ronco
April 25 2012
Gallbladder May Be Source Of Stem Cells For Liver
Regeneration
Saturday,
April 21, 2012 - Stem Cell Research News
A study presented at the International Liver Congress 2012 suggests the
potential for gallbladder tissue, which is routinely discarded from organ
donors and surgical interventions, as a highly available candidate source for
multipotent stem cells.
Biliary tree stem/progenitor cells (BTSCs) have previously been identified in
the glands of normal adult human extrahepatic bile ducts and been shown to
generate in vitro and in vivo mature cells of the hepato-biliary and pancreatic
endocrine lineages.
The study by Guido Carpino, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Rome and
colleagues, found both normal and pathological gallbladders contained easily
isolable cells with the phenotype and biological properties of BTSCs.
Interestingly, in an animal model, these cells were able to repopulate the
injured liver and to improve synthetic functions.
The data open novel perspectives for the collection and use of multipotent
stem cells in regenerative therapies of liver, bile duct, and pancreatic
diseases including diabetes
Citation: “Gallbladder is a highly available source of stem cells with
multiple endodermic mature gates potentiality;” Carpino, G. et al.; abstract
presented at the International Liver Congress 2012
See also: “The biliary tree – a reservoir of multipotent stem cells;”
Vincenzo Cardinale, Yunfang Wang, Guido Carpino et al.; Nature Reviews
Gastroenterology and Hepatology 9, 231–240 (1 April 2012),
DOI:10.1038/nrgastro.2012.23
Abstract: Click here.
March 2011
Uncovering How Liver Tissue Regenerates
Source
The liver is unique among mammalian organs in its ability to regenerate after significant tissue damage or even partial surgical removal.
Laurie DeLeve and her colleagues at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles wanted to better understand which cells are specifically responsible for driving liver regeneration.
A specialized cell type, known as liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, has generally been thought to promote regeneration of liver tissue. However, the DeLeve team suspected that stem cells and progenitor cells, which have the capacity to differentiate into mature cell types, might be responsible for stimulating liver regeneration by generating hepatocyte growth factor.
Using a rat model system, they first identified the presence of stem and progenitor cells that give rise to liver sinusoidal endothelial cells in both the liver and the bone marrow. They next sought to determine which population of stem and progenitor cells are required for regeneration. DeLeve and colleagues found that the bone marrow-derived cells were not required for liver cell proliferation in the absence of damage.
In contrast, following surgical removal of a portion of the rat liver, an infusion of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells was required for liver regeneration. These results improve our understanding of how liver tissue can regenerate following damage and may shed light on liver complications in patients with suppressed bone marrow tissue.
TITLE: Liver sinusoidal endothelial cell progenitor cells promote liver regeneration in rats
View complete data at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/58789?key=21e2857b21106f232595
Scientists have shed light on how the liver repairs itself
Boosting cell production could help treat liver disease
Source
Scientists have shed light on how the liver repairs itself with research that could help develop drugs to treat liver disease
Researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh have discovered how to enhance the production of key cells needed to repair damaged liver tissue.
The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, could help heal livers affected by diseases such as cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis.
Scientists were able to unpick the process of how different cells in the liver are formed.
When the liver is damaged it produces too many bile duct cells and not enough cells called hepatocytes, which the liver needs to repair damaged tissue.
They found they could increase the number of hepatocyte cells – which detoxify the liver – by encouraging these cells to be produced instead of bile duct cells.
Understanding how liver cells are formed could help to develop drugs to encourage the production of hepatocytes to repair liver tissue. This could eventually ease the pressure on waiting lists for liver transplants.
Professor Stuart Forbes, Associate Director at the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, who is a consultant hepatologist and was the academic leader of the study, said: "Liver disease is on the increase in the UK and is one of the top five killers. Increasing numbers of patients are in need of liver transplants, but the supply of donated organs is not keeping pace with the demand. If we can find ways to encourage the liver to heal itself then we could ease the pressure on waiting lists for liver transplants."
Liver disease is the fifth biggest killer in the UK. There are almost 500 people waiting for a liver transplant, compared to just over 300 five years ago.
The production of hepatocyte cells was increased by altering the expression of certain genes in early stage liver cells.
Dr Luke Boulter, of the University of Edinburgh's MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine and first author on the paper, said: "This research helps us know how to increase numbers of cells that are needed for healthy liver function and could pave the way for finding drugs that help liver repair. Understanding the process in which cells in the liver are formed is key in looking at ways to repair damaged liver tissue."
Dr Rob Buckle, Head of Regenerative Medicine at the MRC, said: "Liver transplants have saved countless lives over the years, but demand will inevitably outstrip supply and in the long term we need to look beyond replacing damaged tissues to exploiting the regenerative potential of the human body. The MRC continues to invest heavily across the breadth of approaches that might deliver the promise of regenerative medicine, and this study opens up the possibility of applying our increasing knowledge of stem cell biology to stimulate the body's own dormant repair processes as a basis for future therapy."
###
The study was carried out in collaboration with the University's MRC Centre for Inflammation Research, the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow and the K.U. Leuven in Belgium.
Contact: Catriona Kelly
Catriona.Kelly@ed.ac.uk
44-131-651-4401
University of Edinburgh
Aug 29 2012
Role of nitric oxide in liver regeneration
Cristina E Carnovale, Maria T Ronco
April 25 2012
Gallbladder May Be Source Of Stem Cells For Liver
Regeneration
Saturday,
April 21, 2012 - Stem Cell Research News
A study presented at the International Liver Congress 2012 suggests the
potential for gallbladder tissue, which is routinely discarded from organ
donors and surgical interventions, as a highly available candidate source for
multipotent stem cells.
Biliary tree stem/progenitor cells (BTSCs) have previously been identified in
the glands of normal adult human extrahepatic bile ducts and been shown to
generate in vitro and in vivo mature cells of the hepato-biliary and pancreatic
endocrine lineages.
The study by Guido Carpino, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Rome and
colleagues, found both normal and pathological gallbladders contained easily
isolable cells with the phenotype and biological properties of BTSCs.
Interestingly, in an animal model, these cells were able to repopulate the
injured liver and to improve synthetic functions.
The data open novel perspectives for the collection and use of multipotent
stem cells in regenerative therapies of liver, bile duct, and pancreatic
diseases including diabetes
Citation: “Gallbladder is a highly available source of stem cells with
multiple endodermic mature gates potentiality;” Carpino, G. et al.; abstract
presented at the International Liver Congress 2012
See also: “The biliary tree – a reservoir of multipotent stem cells;”
Vincenzo Cardinale, Yunfang Wang, Guido Carpino et al.; Nature Reviews
Gastroenterology and Hepatology 9, 231–240 (1 April 2012),
DOI:10.1038/nrgastro.2012.23
Abstract: Click here.
March 2011
Uncovering How Liver Tissue Regenerates
Source
The liver is unique among mammalian organs in its ability to regenerate after significant tissue damage or even partial surgical removal.
Laurie DeLeve and her colleagues at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles wanted to better understand which cells are specifically responsible for driving liver regeneration.
A specialized cell type, known as liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, has generally been thought to promote regeneration of liver tissue. However, the DeLeve team suspected that stem cells and progenitor cells, which have the capacity to differentiate into mature cell types, might be responsible for stimulating liver regeneration by generating hepatocyte growth factor.
Using a rat model system, they first identified the presence of stem and progenitor cells that give rise to liver sinusoidal endothelial cells in both the liver and the bone marrow. They next sought to determine which population of stem and progenitor cells are required for regeneration. DeLeve and colleagues found that the bone marrow-derived cells were not required for liver cell proliferation in the absence of damage.
In contrast, following surgical removal of a portion of the rat liver, an infusion of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells was required for liver regeneration. These results improve our understanding of how liver tissue can regenerate following damage and may shed light on liver complications in patients with suppressed bone marrow tissue.
TITLE: Liver sinusoidal endothelial cell progenitor cells promote liver regeneration in rats
View complete data at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/58789?key=21e2857b21106f232595
Scientists have shed light on how the liver repairs itself
Boosting cell production could help treat liver disease
Source
Scientists have shed light on how the liver repairs itself with research that could help develop drugs to treat liver disease
Researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh have discovered how to enhance the production of key cells needed to repair damaged liver tissue.
The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, could help heal livers affected by diseases such as cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis.
Scientists were able to unpick the process of how different cells in the liver are formed.
When the liver is damaged it produces too many bile duct cells and not enough cells called hepatocytes, which the liver needs to repair damaged tissue.
They found they could increase the number of hepatocyte cells – which detoxify the liver – by encouraging these cells to be produced instead of bile duct cells.
Understanding how liver cells are formed could help to develop drugs to encourage the production of hepatocytes to repair liver tissue. This could eventually ease the pressure on waiting lists for liver transplants.
Professor Stuart Forbes, Associate Director at the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, who is a consultant hepatologist and was the academic leader of the study, said: "Liver disease is on the increase in the UK and is one of the top five killers. Increasing numbers of patients are in need of liver transplants, but the supply of donated organs is not keeping pace with the demand. If we can find ways to encourage the liver to heal itself then we could ease the pressure on waiting lists for liver transplants."
Liver disease is the fifth biggest killer in the UK. There are almost 500 people waiting for a liver transplant, compared to just over 300 five years ago.
The production of hepatocyte cells was increased by altering the expression of certain genes in early stage liver cells.
Dr Luke Boulter, of the University of Edinburgh's MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine and first author on the paper, said: "This research helps us know how to increase numbers of cells that are needed for healthy liver function and could pave the way for finding drugs that help liver repair. Understanding the process in which cells in the liver are formed is key in looking at ways to repair damaged liver tissue."
Dr Rob Buckle, Head of Regenerative Medicine at the MRC, said: "Liver transplants have saved countless lives over the years, but demand will inevitably outstrip supply and in the long term we need to look beyond replacing damaged tissues to exploiting the regenerative potential of the human body. The MRC continues to invest heavily across the breadth of approaches that might deliver the promise of regenerative medicine, and this study opens up the possibility of applying our increasing knowledge of stem cell biology to stimulate the body's own dormant repair processes as a basis for future therapy."
###
The study was carried out in collaboration with the University's MRC Centre for Inflammation Research, the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow and the K.U. Leuven in Belgium.
Contact: Catriona Kelly
Catriona.Kelly@ed.ac.uk
44-131-651-4401
University of Edinburgh