1115 IDENTIFYING COREGULATED GENE CLUSTERS LINKED TO HEPATIC FIBROSIS

Abstract

Introduction: Liver transplantation is the only effective treatment for decompensated liver-cirrhosis. Several factors, such as nonavailability of donors, operative-risks, complications associated with rejection, usage of immunosuppressive agents, and high cost of treatment, make this strategy available to only a few people. Human foetal liver derived hepatic progenitor cell transplantation (HSCT) have shown to be a good alternative to manage end-stage liver diseases. In this retrospective study, we investigated safety and efficacy of HSCT by monitoring the T-cell, NK-cell and cytokines which play major role in cellular immune response and rejection of chronic decompensated liver cirrhosis patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 5 patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis were enrolled in the study. After giving human foetal liver-derived EpCAM positive cell transplantation, T-cell (CD3, CD4 and CD8), NK-cells (CD16) by flowcytometry and cytokine-levels (IL2, TNFb, IFNa, IFNb and IFNg) by ELISA were monitored four times within a month. Result: Present study demonstrated that after HSCT patient showed marked clinical recovery and decline in the MELD score and there was no significant variation found in cell mediated response and cytokine levels between pre and post transplantation. Conclusion: Hence this preliminary study demonstrated human foetal liver-derived EpCAM positive stem cell transplantation is safe for end stage liver cirrhosis.