Effect of human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells in a cirrhotic rat model

Kyung Hee Jung, Hyun Phil Shin, Sun Lee, Yun Jeong Lim, Soo Han Hwang, Hoon Han, Hwon Kyum Park, Joo Ho Chung, Sung Vin Yim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

75 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background/Aim: Cirrhosis is a long-term consequence of chronic hepatic injury and no effective therapy is currently available for this disease. Recent reports have shown that the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the capacity to differentiate into hepatocytes, and umbilical cord blood is a rich source of MSCs. Hence, we investigated the effect of infusing of human umbilical cord blood-derived MSCs (HMSCs) in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced cirrhosis in a rat model. Methods: The effect of HMSCs on cirrhosis was evaluated using haematoxylin and eosin and Masson's trichrome staining. To evaluate cirrhosis-related factors, we measured protein and mRNA expression of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), collagen type I and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). Results: Histological findings showed that liver fibrosis in rats was alleviated by HMSCs infusion. Interestingly, CM-DiI-labelled HMSCs expressed the hepatocyte-specific markers, human albumin and α-fetoprotein. Infusion of HMSCs significantly inhibited TGF-β1, collagen type I and α-SMA expressions in CCl4-induced cirrhotic rats. Conclusion: Our results showed that HMSCs infusion could improve liver fibrosis in rats with CCl4-induced cirrhosis, raising the possibility for clinical use of HMSCs in the treatment of cirrhosis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)898-909
Number of pages12
JournalLiver International
Volume29
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009

Keywords

  • Cirrhosis
  • Collagen type I
  • Human umbilical cord blood (HUCB)
  • Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)
  • TGF-β
  • α-SMA

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