Cell therapy from bench to bedside: Hepatocytes from fibroblasts - the truth and myth of transdifferentiation.

ABSTRACT: Hepatocyte transplantation is an alternative to liver transplantation in certain disorders such as inherited liver diseases and liver failure. It is a relatively less complicated surgical procedure, and has the advantage that it can be repeated several times if unsuccessful. Another advantage is that hepatocytes can be isolated from partly damaged livers which are not suitable for liver transplantation. Despite these advantages hepatocyte transplantation is less popular. Important issues are poor engraftment of the transplanted cells and the scarcity of donor hepatocytes. Generation of "hepatocyte like cells"/iHeps from embryonic stem cells (ES) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by directed differentiation is an emerging solution to the latter issue. Direct conversation or trans-d

SUBMITTER: Sanal MG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4458753 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature