title: Effect of Microenvironment on Differentiation of Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Hepatocytes In Vitro and In Vivo.
abstract: Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) are considered to be an ideal cell source for cell therapy of many diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of the microenvironment to the hepatic differentiation potential of hUCMSCs in vitro and in vivo and to explore their therapeutic use in acute liver injury in rats. We established a new model to simulate the liver tissue microenvironment in vivo using liver homogenate supernatant (LHS) in vitro. This induced environment could drive hUCMSCs to differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells within 7 days. The differentiated cells expressed hepatocyte-specific markers and demonstrated hepatocellular functions. We also injected hUCMSCs into rats with CCl4-induced acute hepatic injury. The hUCMSCs were detected in the livers of recipient rats and expressed the human hepatocyte-specific markers, suggesting that hUCMSCs could differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells in vivo in the liver tissue microenvironment. Levels of biochemistry markers improved significantly after transplantation of hUCMSCs compared with the nontransplantation group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the liver tissue microenvironment may contribute to the differentiation of hUCMSCs into hepatocytes both in vitro and in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050017, China; Department of Pharmacy, Bethune International Peace Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050082, China.
authors.forename: Gai
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Bethune International Peace Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050082, China.
authors.forename: Xiaolei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Bethune International Peace Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050082, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Bethune International Peace Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050082, China.
authors.forename: Honghai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Bethune International Peace Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050082, China.
authors.forename: Yabin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Bethune International Peace Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050082, China.
authors.forename: Jianfang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Bethune International Peace Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050082, China.
authors.forename: Yuqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Graduate School, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050017, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Graduate School, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050017, China; Department of Pharmacy, Bethune International Peace Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050082, China.
authors.forename: Yanning
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride / Q000633:toxicity; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D036101:Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000166:cytology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride