Induced pluripotent stem cells: A new era for hepatology

• Published in: Journal of hepatology Vol. 53; no. 4; pp. 738 - 751
• Main Authors: Asgari, Samira, Pournasr, Behshad, Salekdeh, Ghasem Hosseini, Ghodsizadeh, Arefeh, Ott, Michael, Baharvand, Hossein
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier B.V 01.10.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Bio-artificial livers; Biological and medical sciences; Cell Differentiation; Cell Lineage; Cell Proliferation; Drug development; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen; Gene therapy; Genetic Therapy; Hepatology; Humans; Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells; Liver Diseases - surgery; Liver Transplantation - methods; Liver, Artificial; Liver, biliary tract, pancreas, portal circulation, spleen; Medical sciences; Pluripotent Stem Cells - transplantation; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Surgery of the digestive system; Tissue Engineering; Transplantation; Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells; Transplantation; Gene therapy; Drug development; Bio-artificial livers; Hepatology; Treatment; Surgery; Stem cell; Gastroenterology; Graft; Artificial liver
• ISSN: 0168-8278; 1600-0641
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2010.05.009

Stem cell transplantation has been proposed as an attractive alternative approach to restore liver mass and function. Recent progress has been reported on the generation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from somatic cells. Human-iPS cells can be differentiated towards the hepatic lineage which presents possibilities for improving research on diseases, drug development, tissue engineering, the development of bio-artificial livers, and a foundation for producing autologous cell therapies that would avoid immune rejection and enable correction of gene defects prior to cell transplantation. This focused review will discuss how human iPS cell advances are likely to have an impact on hepatology.