title: In vitro differentiation of human liver-derived stem cells with mesenchymal characteristics into immature hepatocyte-like cells.
abstract: Liver transplantation is severely limited by donor shortage although it is the only effective treatment for end-stage liver disease. So the best alternative is hepatocyte transplantation. For obtaining human hepatocytes, some stem cells originating from extrahepatic or intraheptic tissues have been isolated and characterized. Previously we have reported that human liver-derived stem cells (HLSCs) could be isolated and expanded from donated livers unsuitable for transplantation; they expressed some markers of mesenchymal stem cells but neither hematopoietic nor oval cells. In this study, we isolated and expanded HLSCs with mesenchymal characteristics from another adult human liver. They showed mesenchymal morphology and grew well under serum condition similar to our previous reports. Also, they expressed some markers of mesenchymal stem cells, such as CD44, CD73, CD90, and CD105, through fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. When HLSCs were sequentially exposed to fibroblast growth factor-1 (FGF-1), FGF-4, and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) followed by FGF-4, HGF, oncostatin M, and dexamethasone, they became round or polygonal, and expressed some hepatic markers such as albumin and α1-antitrypsin in the gene or protein level. Also, they showed urea synthesis activity 7 days after treatment of FGF-4, HGF, oncostatin M, and dexamethasone. These results provided that HLSCs would be a useful cell source in the field of regenerative medicine as well as liver cell biology.
authors.affiliation: Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: J-H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: H-J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Institute, Lifeliver Co Ltd, Yongin, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: I K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Institute, Lifeliver Co Ltd, Yongin, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: H-E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Institute, Lifeliver Co Ltd, Yongin, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: D-H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biotechnology, Dongguk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: J-K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University, School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: sklee@skku.edu.
authors.forename: S-K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Dongguk University Research Institute of Biotechnology, Dongguk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: bioyoon@dongguk.edu.
authors.forename: H-H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Yoon
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D017931:DNA Primers; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology*; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000166:cytology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers