Detecting new cells can regenerate the liver

Scientists at King's University in the UK have discovered a type of cell that can regenerate liver tissue.

With further adjustment and years of research, scientists hope cells could one day be used in cell-based therapies to treat liver failure without implants. .

This cell also seems to exist in small numbers in adults.

Reported in Nature Communications, the team analyzed a new type of cell called the hybrid liver progenitor cell (HHyP) . HHyP seems to be a precursor cell capable of transforming into two types of cells that make up the majority of liver tissue (hepatocytes and bile duct epithelial cells) in a manner similar to stem cells. Cells are thought to be used during early growth in the womb, but also appear to exist in small numbers in adults.

"For the first time, we have found that cells with stem-like properties can actually exist in the human liver. This, can provide a wide range of regenerative medical applications for conditioning. Treatment of liver disease, including the ability to bypass the need for liver transplantation , " said lead author Dr. Tamir Rashid from the Center for Stem Cells and Renewable Medicine at King University.

"Now we need to quickly work to unlock the formula for converting pluripotent stem cells into HHyP so that we can transplant those cells into patients as we wish. In the long run, we will also work to see if HHYP can be reprogrammed in the body without using traditional pharmacological drugs to repair diseased liver without a cell transplant or an organ, " Rashid said.

The liver is the only human organ that can regenerate after being injured, whether it is due to physical injury, illness, obesity or substance abuse.

In fact, only a quarter of the original liver volume can replicate to its full size. However, if the liver is constantly damaged, complete regeneration will be prevented by the development of scar tissue in the liver, called cirrhosis.

The most attractive of all researchers, HHyP cells are similar to the precursor cells that mice use to regenerate liver after chronic trauma. The exact nature of the liver progenitor cells can make possible human regeneration a long, vague subject.