Liver Stem Cells Identified, Have Therapeutic Effect in Mice
For the first time, researchers led by Hans Clevers and Markus Grompe have successfully identified liver stem cells from a mouse. Reported in Nature, the team worked off a hypothesis that a previously identified marker of small intestine and colon stem cells could also mark liver stem cells. They could thereby isolate these liver stem cells and expand them in culture. Upon transplantation of these cells into mice with cirrhosis, there was a moderate therapeutic benefit.