| Abstract: |
Adult liver has the capability to regenerate itself under injury. Facultative liver stem and progenitor cells are capable of proliferating and differentiating into functional hepatocytes and reconstruct the liver. There are different kinds of liver stem and progenitor cells reported. Human and murine liver under 70% partial hepatectomy could survive and restore the liver mass by the proliferation of mature hepatocytes, and as such these mature hepatocytes are considered liver stem cells contributing to this process. Under either acute or chronic liver injuries with chemical compounds, “oval cells” located near the canal of Hering proliferate and regenerate the liver. Other cell types such as bone marrow cells are also liver stem cell candidates that could engraft in the host liver by cell fusion with the resident liver cells. In this article, we will review stem and progenitor cells in the adult liver and their roles in liver regeneration. © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
