Abstract

Liver transplantation and hepatocyte transplantation are effective treatments for severe liver injuries, but the donor shortage is a serious problem. Therefore, hepatocyte-like cells generated from human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells with unlimited proliferative ability are expected to be a promising new transplantation resource. The technology for hepatic differentiation from human iPS cells has made great progress in this decade. The efficiency of hepatic differentiation now exceeds 90%, making it possible to produce nearly homogeneous hepatocyte-like cells from human iPS cells. Because there is little contamination of undifferentiated cells, there is a lower risk of teratoma formation. To date, the transplantation of human iPS cell-derived hepatocyte-like cells has been shown to have therapeutic effects using various liver injury model mice. Currently, studies are underway using model animals larger than mice. The day when human iPS cell-derived hepatocyte-like cells can be used as cellular medicine is surely approaching. In this review, we introduce the forefront of regenerative medicine applications using human iPS cell-derived hepatocyte-like cells.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.