title: Stem cell therapy of the liver--fusion or fiction?
abstract: Various stem cell populations have been described in distinct models of liver regeneration. This review provides an overview of these different stem cell populations aimed at unifying diverse views of liver stem cell biology. Embryonic stem cells, hemopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, liver-derived hepatic stem cells, bone marrow-derived hepatic stem cells, and mature hepatocytes (as cells with stemlike properties) are considered separately. In so doing, we seek to clarify the nomenclature of putative liver stem cell types. Experiments that address the question of cellular fusion versus transdifferentiation as explanations for observed liver regeneration are highlighted. This review concludes with a series of open questions that should be addressed in the context of clinical liver disease before attempts at human therapeutic interventions.
authors.affiliation: Gene Therapy Laboratory, Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology, University of Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Marc H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Dahlke
authors.forename: Felix C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Popp
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.forename: Hans J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Schlitt
authors.forename: John E J
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Rasko
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002459:Cell Fusion / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D008115:Liver Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*