In vitro culture of isolated primary hepatocytes and stem cell-derived hepatocyte-like cells for liver regeneration

• Published in: Protein & cell Vol. 6; no. 8; pp. 562 - 574
• Main Authors: Hu, Chenxia, Li, Lanjuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Higher Education Press 01.08.2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cell Biology; Cell Differentiation; Developmental Biology; Embryonic Stem Cells - cytology; hepatocyte-like cell; Hepatocytes - cytology; Human Genetics; Humans; in vitro culture; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells - cytology; Life Sciences; Liver Regeneration; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells - cytology; microRNA; Primary Cell Culture - methods; primary hepatocyte; Protein Science; Regenerative Medicine - methods; Review; stem cell; Stem Cells; Stem Cells - cytology; 体外培养; 功能分离; 原代肝细胞; 肝再生; 肝脏疾病; 胚胎干细胞; 间充质干细胞; primary hepatocyte; stem cell; liver regeneration; hepatocyte-like cell; in vitro culture
• ISSN: 1674-800X; 1674-8018
• DOI: 10.1007/s13238-015-0180-2

Various liver diseases result in terminal hepatic failure, and liver transplantation, cell transplantation and artificial liver support systems are emerging as effective therapies for severe hepatic disease. However, all of these treatments are limited by organ or cell resources, so developing a sufficient number of functional hepatocytes for liver regeneration is a priority. Liver regeneration is a complex process regulated by growth factors （GFs）, cytokines, transcription factors （TFs）, hormones, oxidative stress products, metabolic net- works, and microRNA. It is well-known that the function of isolated primary hepatocytes is hard to maintain; when cultured in vitro, these cells readily undergo dedifferentia- tion, causing them to lose hepatocyte function. For this mason, most studies focus on inducing stem cells, such as embryonic stem cells （ESCs）, induced pluripotent stem cells （iPSCs）, hepatic progenitor cells （HPCs）, and mesenchymal stem cells （MSCs）, to differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells （HLCs） in vitro. In this review, we mainly focus on the nature of the liver regeneration process and discuss how to main- tain and enhance in vitro hepatic function of isolated primary hepatocytes or stem cell-derived HLCs for liver regenera- tion. In this way, hepatocytes or HLCs may be applied for clinical use for the treatment of terminal liver diseases and may prolong the survival time of patients in the near future.