title: A novel method of mouse ex utero transplantation of hepatic progenitor cells into the fetal liver.
abstract: Avoiding the limitations of the adult liver niche, transplantation of hepatic stem/progenitor cells into fetal liver is desirable to analyze immature cells in a hepatic developmental environment. Here, we established a new monitor tool for cell fate of hepatic progenitor cells transplanted into the mouse fetal liver by using ex utero surgery. When embryonic day (ED) 14.5 hepatoblasts were injected into the ED14.5 fetal liver, the transplanted cells expressed albumin abundantly or alpha-fetoprotein weakly, and contained glycogen in the neonatal liver, indicating that transplanted hepatoblasts can proliferate and differentiate in concord with surrounding recipient parenchymal cells. The transplanted cells became mature in the liver of 6-week-old mice. Furthermore, this method was applicable to transplantation of hepatoblast-like cells derived from mouse embryonic stem cells. These data indicate that this unique technique will provide a new in vivo experimental system for studying cell fate of hepatic stem/progenitor cells and liver organogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathological Biochemistry, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 2-3-10 Kandasurugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0062, Japan.
authors.forename: Mima
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shikanai
authors.forename: Kinji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asahina
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iseki
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Teramoto
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishida
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimizu-Saito
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Eto
authors.forename: Hirobumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Teraoka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000502:physiology / Q000637:transplantation*; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D038081:Organogenesis; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D014599:Uterus