title: MicroRNAs in liver tissue engineering - New promises for failing organs.
abstract: miRNA-based technologies provide attractive tools for several liver tissue engineering approaches. Herein, we review the current state of miRNA applications in liver tissue engineering. Several miRNAs have been implicated in hepatic disease and proper hepatocyte function. However, the clinical translation of these findings into tissue engineering has just begun. miRNAs have been successfully used to induce proliferation of mature hepatocytes and improve the differentiation of hepatic precursor cells. Nonetheless, miRNA-based approaches beyond cell generation have not yet entered preclinical or clinical investigations. Moreover, miRNA-based concepts for the biliary tree have yet to be developed. Further research on miRNA based modifications, however, holds the promise of enabling significant improvements to liver tissue engineering approaches due to their ability to regulate and fine-tune all biological processes relevant to hepatic tissue engineering, such as proliferation, differentiation, growth, and cell function.
authors.affiliation: General, Visceral, and Transplantation Surgery, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Nathanael
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Raschzok
authors.affiliation: Neonatology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Hannes
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sallmon
authors.affiliation: General, Visceral, and Transplantation Surgery, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Johann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pratschke
authors.affiliation: General, Visceral, and Transplantation Surgery, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: igor.sauer@charite.de.
authors.forename: Igor M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Sauer
mesh_terms: D001659:Biliary Tract / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: Liver tissue engineering; Liver transplantation; MicroRNA