Dabeva M D, Hwang S G, Vasa S R, Hurston E, Novikoff P M, Hixson D C, Gupta S, Shafritz D A
Marion Bessin Liver Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997 Jul 8;94(14):7356-61. doi: 10.1073/pnas.94.14.7356.
The ability to identify, isolate, and transplant progenitor cells from solid tissues would greatly facilitate the treatment of diseases currently requiring whole organ transplantation. In this study, cell fractions enriched in candidate epithelial progenitor cells from the rat pancreas were isolated and transplanted into the liver of an inbred strain of Fischer rats. Using a dipeptidyl dipeptidase IV genetic marker system to follow the fate of transplanted cells in conjunction with albumin gene expression, we provide conclusive evidence that, after transplantation to the liver, epithelial progenitor cells from the pancreas differentiate into hepatocytes, express liver-specific proteins, and become fully integrated into the liver parenchymal structure. These studies demonstrate the presence of multipotent progenitor cells in the adult pancreas and establish a role for the liver microenvironment in the terminal differentiation of epithelial cells of foregut origin. They further suggest that such progenitor cells might be useful in studies of organ repopulation following acute or chronic liver injury.
从实体组织中识别、分离和移植祖细胞的能力将极大地促进目前需要全器官移植的疾病的治疗。在本研究中，从大鼠胰腺中分离出富含候选上皮祖细胞的细胞组分，并将其移植到近交系Fischer大鼠的肝脏中。利用二肽基肽酶IV遗传标记系统追踪移植细胞的命运，并结合白蛋白基因表达，我们提供了确凿的证据表明，胰腺上皮祖细胞移植到肝脏后可分化为肝细胞，表达肝脏特异性蛋白质，并完全整合到肝实质结构中。这些研究证明了成年胰腺中存在多能祖细胞，并确立了肝脏微环境在前肠起源上皮细胞终末分化中的作用。它们还进一步表明，这种祖细胞可能在急性或慢性肝损伤后的器官再填充研究中有用。
