title: Migration of human umbilical cord blood cells into rat liver.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cell therapy provides an effective strategy for the treatment of an impaired liver. Human umbilical cord blood progenitor cells have the potential to differentiate into hepatocytes. Progenitor cells transplanted into the spleen could migrate directly into the liver through portal circulation. To track migration of human umbilical cord blood progenitor cells in cirrhotic rat liver after intrasplenic transplantation and to prove the possibility similar behavior of human umbilical cord blood nucleated cells in humans.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Umbilical cord blood samples from full-term deliveries will be collected after obtaining an informed consent from the mother. The collection procedure will be conducted after completion of delivery and will not interfere with the normal obstetric procedures. Adult male Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to liver cirrhosis by intraperitoneal injection of thioacetamide. Cirrhotic rats were treated with human umbilical cord blood nucleated cells by intra-splenic transplantation. Migration of intrasplenic transplanted human umbilical cord blood cells to the liver was successfully documented with Immunohistochemistry. The liver and spleen from recipient animals were removed. Histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis were performed 20 weeks after intrasplenic injection of the cells. Intrasplenically injected cells migrate to the liver of recipient animals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Human cord blood nucleated cells have the potential to differentiate into hepatocytes and substantially improve the histology and function of the cirrhotic liver in rats. Relocation into liver after intrasplenic transplantation could be detected by immunohistochemistry. Transdifferentiated cells could be efficiently stained with antihuman hepatocytes.
authors.affiliation: Surgery Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Alaa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.affiliation: Pathology Department, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Ehsan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.affiliation: Surgery Department, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohamed I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Seleem
authors.affiliation: Surgery Department, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Medhat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.affiliation: Surgery Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Firas Z
authors.initials: FZ
authors.lastname: ElDeen
authors.affiliation: Surgery Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salah
authors.affiliation: Research and Development, Osteotech Inc., NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Abdulhafez A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Selim
keywords: Cord blood; Intrasplenic transpl; Liver regeneration; Progenitor cells