Ex vivo-expanded bone marrow stem cells home to the liver and ameliorate functional recovery in a mouse model of acute hepatic injury

• Published in: Hepatobiliary & pancreatic diseases international 2012-02, Vol.11 (1), p.66-73
• Main Authors: Jin, Shi-Zhu, Liu, Bing-Rong, Xu, Jun, Gao, Fu-Lai, Hu, Zong-Jing, Wang, Xin-Hong, Pei, Feng-Hua, Hong, Yu, Hu, Hong-Yan, Han, Ming-Zi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acute; Acute Disease; acute hepatic injury; Alanine Transaminase - blood; Albumins - metabolism; Animals; Aspartate Aminotransferases - blood; Biomarkers - blood; Bone Marrow Transplantation; Carbon Tetrachloride; cell; Cell Movement; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; Cells, Cultured; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury - metabolism; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury - pathology; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury - physiopathology; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury - surgery; culture; Disease Models, Animal; Endocrinology & Metabolism; Female; Flow Cytometry; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; hepatic; injury; Liver - metabolism; Liver - pathology; Liver - physiopathology; Liver Regeneration; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Recovery of Function; stem; stem cell culture; stem cell therapy; Stem Cell Transplantation; therapy; Time Factors
• ISSN: 1499-3872
• DOI: 10.1016/S1499-3872(11)60127-6

BACKGROUND:Stem cell transplantation provides a theoretical approach for liver regeneration medicine;it may promote liver regeneration and self-repair.However,the transplantation of bone marrow-mesenchymal stem cells expanded ex vivo as a therapy for liver disease has rarely been investigated.This study aimed to explore whether bone marrow stem cells expanded ex vivo home to the liver and foster hepatic recovery after CCl 4 injury.METHODS:Bone marrow cells from BALB/c mice were expanded ex vivo by multiple-passage cultivation,characterized by cytoflow immunofluorescence,and pre-labeled with PKH26 before intravenous infusion into animals treated with CCl 4.The integration of bone marrow cells into the liver was examined microscopically,and plasma hepatic enzymes were determined biochemically.RESULTS:Cultured bone marrow cells exhibited antigenic profiles comparable to those of primary medullary stem cells.Double immunofluorescence showed colocalization of these cells with proliferative activity and albumin expression in the liver of CCl 4 -treated mice.Densitometry showed increased in situ cell proliferation (50±14 vs 20±3 cells/high-power field,P<0.05) and albumin expression (149±25 vs 20±5 cells/high-power field,P<0.05) in the liver,as well as reduced serum aminotransferase levels (P<0.05) and better survival rates (P<0.05) in animals receiving cultured bone marrow cells relative to controls.CONCLUSIONS:Ex vivo-expanded bone marrow cells are capable of relocating to and proliferating in the chemically- injured liver.Transplantation of these pluripotent stem cells appears to improve serum indices of liver function and survival rate in mice after CCl4-induced hepatic damage.