title: Transplantation of human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells improves survival rates in a rat model of acute hepatic necrosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Stem cell-based therapies are emerging as important and promising methods in the treatment of end-stage liver disease. This study is aimed to evaluate the effects of human umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cell (HUCBMSC) transplantation in acute hepatic necrosis (AHN).
  
  
  METHODS
  Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labeled HUCBMSCs were injected into the liver of rats in which AHN was induced by carbon tetrachloride, and the migration of these cells in liver slices was evaluated from 48 hours to 4 weeks post-transplantation. The transdifferentiation status of the HUCBMSCs was evaluated using immunohistochemistry and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and survival rates were statistically analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dispersed GFP fluorescence was observed along the portal area 48 hours after transplantation. One week post-transplantation, GFP-positive cells were found in necrotic liver areas, and GFP-positive cells persisted after 4 weeks. Immunohistochemistry and real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that transplanted HUCBMSCs expressed several human liver tissue-specific markers in rats with AHN. Statistical analysis revealed that rats with AHN that were transplanted with HUCBMSCs had significantly lower death rates after 48 hours than those receiving no HUCBMSCs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HUCBMSC transplantation can significantly improve the survival of rats with AHN. The underlying mechanisms involved may include the transdifferentiation of HUCBMSCs into hepatocyte-like cells and targeted migration of these cells to liver lesion sites.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Laboratory, Dongguan Blood Center, Guangdong, People's Republic of China. sllelva@163.com
authors.forename: Ling-Ling
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Fu-Ping
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: De-Wen
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D036101:Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017114:Liver Failure, Acute / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D009336:Necrosis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction