Pharmacological Induction of a Progenitor State for the Efficient Expansion of Primary Human Hepatocytes.

ABSTRACT: The liver is an organ with strong regenerative capacity, yet primary hepatocytes have a low amplification potential in vitro, a major limitation for the cell-based therapy of liver disorders and for ex vivo biological screens. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) may help to circumvent this obstacle but often harbor genetic and epigenetic abnormalities, limiting their potential. Here, we describe the pharmacological induction of proliferative human hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) through a cocktail of growth factors and small molecules mimicking the signaling events involved in liver regeneration. Human HPCs from healthy donors and pediatric patients proliferated vigorously while maintaining their genomic stability and could be redifferentiated in vitro into metabolically competent cells

SUBMITTER: Unzu C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6519263 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature