Kung Janet W C, Currie Ian S, Forbes Stuart J, Ross James A
Tissue Injury and Repair Group, Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Chancellor's Building, 49 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4SB, UK.
J Biomed Biotechnol. 2010;2010:984248. doi: 10.1155/2010/984248. Epub 2010 Feb 7.
The identification of putative liver stem cells has brought closer the previously separate fields of liver development, regeneration, and carcinogenesis. Significant overlaps in the regulation of these processes are now being described. For example, studies in embryonic liver development have already provided the basis for directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells into hepatocyte-like cells. As a result, the understanding of the cell biology of proliferation and differentiation in the liver has been improved. This knowledge can be used to improve the function of hepatocyte-like cells for drug testing, bioartificial livers, and transplantation. In parallel, the mechanisms regulating cancer cell biology are now clearer, providing fertile soil for novel therapeutic approaches. Recognition of the relationships between development, regeneration, and carcinogenesis, and the increasing evidence for the role of stem cells in all of these areas, has sparked fresh enthusiasm in understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms and has led to new targeted therapies for liver cirrhosis and primary liver cancers.
假定肝干细胞的鉴定拉近了之前肝脏发育、再生和致癌作用这几个相互独立的领域的距离。现在人们正在描述这些过程调控方面的显著重叠。例如，胚胎肝脏发育研究已经为将人类胚胎干细胞和诱导多能干细胞定向分化为肝细胞样细胞奠定了基础。因此，对肝脏中增殖和分化的细胞生物学的理解得到了提升。这些知识可用于改善肝细胞样细胞在药物测试、生物人工肝和移植方面的功能。与此同时，调控癌细胞生物学的机制现在更加清晰，为新的治疗方法提供了肥沃土壤。认识到发育、再生和致癌作用之间的关系，以及干细胞在所有这些领域中作用的证据越来越多，激发了人们对理解潜在分子机制的新热情，并催生了针对肝硬化和原发性肝癌的新靶向疗法。
