Clinical application of hepatocyte transplantation: current status, applicability, limitations and future outlook.

Clinical application of hepatocyte transplantation: current status, applicability, limitations and future outlook. Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020 Feb 26;: Authors: Nguyen MP, Jain V, Iansante V, Mitry RR, Filippi C, Dhawan A Abstract IntroductionHepatocyte transplantation (HT) is a promising alternative to liver transplantation for treatment of liver-based metabolic diseases and acute liver failure (ALF). However, shortage of good-quality liver tissues, early cell loss post-infusion, reduced cell engraftment and function restricts clinical application.Areas covered: A comprehensive literature search was performed to cover pre-clinical and clinical HT studies. The review discusses the latest developments to address HT limitations: cell sources from marginal/suboptimal donors to neonatal livers, differentiating pluripotent stem cells into hepatocyte-like cells, in vitro expansion, prevention of immune response to transplanted cells by encapsulation or using innate immunity-inhibiting agents, and enhancing engraftment through partial hepatectomy or irradiation.Expert Opinion: To date, published data are highly encouraging specially the alginate-encapsulated hepatocyte treatment of children with ALF. Hepatocyte functions can be further improved through co-culturing with mesenchymal stromal cells. Moreover, ex-vivo genetic correction will enable the use of autologous cells in future personalized medicine. PMID: 32098516 [P...
Source: Expert Review of Gastroenterology and Hepatology - Category: Gastroenterology Tags: Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol Source Type: research