title: Identification of circulating CD90 CD73 cells in cirrhosis of liver.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify circulating CD90(+) CD73(+) CD45(-) cells and evaluate their in vitro proliferating abilities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with cirrhosis (n = 43), and healthy volunteers (n = 40) were recruited to the study. Mononuclear cells were isolated and cultured from the peripheral blood of controls and cirrhosis patients. Fibroblast-like cells that appeared in cultures were analyzed for morphological features, enumerated by flow cytometry and confirmed by immunocytochemistry (ICC). Colony forming efficiency (CFE) of these cells was assessed and expressed as a percentage.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In comparison to healthy volunteers, cells obtained from cirrhotic patients showed a significant increase (P < 0.001) in the percentage of CD90(+) CD73(+) CD45(-) cells in culture. Cultured cells also showed 10 fold increases in CFE. Flow cytometry and ICC confirmed that the proliferating cells expressed CD90(+) CD73(+) in the cultures from cirrhosis patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate the presence of circulating CD90(+) CD73(+) CD45(-) cells in patients with liver cirrhosis that have the potential to proliferate at a higher rate.
authors.affiliation: Mitnala Sasikala, Pugazhelthi Surya, Gaddipati Radhika, Pondugala Pavan Kumar, Mekala Subba Rao, Rathindra Mohan Mukherjee, Institute of Basic Sciences and Translational Research, Asian Health Care Foundation, Hyderabad 500082, India.
authors.forename: Mitnala
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sasikala
authors.forename: Pugazhelthi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Surya
authors.forename: Gaddipati
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Radhika
authors.forename: Pondugala Pavan
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Mekala Subba
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Rathindra Mohan
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.forename: Padaki Nagaraja
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: D Nageshwar
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Reddy