Identification and differentiation of bone marrow-derived liver stem cells / 中国普通外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To identify the surface marker of bone marrow-derived liver stem cells and to isolate the stem cells, to investigate the differentiation of the stem cells. Methods The quantitative variations of the cells with stem cell surface markers, including ? 2-microglobulin negative (? 2m -), Thy-1 +,CD34 +,Flt-3 +,IL-3R +,and c-kit + markers, were detected by using flow cytometry in the bone marrow of several rat models with liver injury. Each stem cell population was then isolated using a magnetic bead cell-sorting procedure. The isolated cells were cultured in a system containing cholestatic serum and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). The morphology of the cells was observed, and the expressions of albumin, AFP, and CK8/18 were detected with immunohistochemistry technique. Results ? 2m - cells elevated significantly in each of the rat models.After being co-cultured with cholestatic serum and HGF, ? 2m - cells showed multilateral transformation and resembled hepatcytes morphologically. The differentiated cells expressed albumin, AFP, and CK8/18, all known to be the characteristic markers of hepatocyte. The other cell population showed little quantitative changes, and did not express the same proteins. Conclusions The quantitative variation of ? 2m - cells corresponds to the severity of liver injury. ? 2m - cells have the ability to trans-differentiated into hepatocytes in vitro. They might be the marker of liver stem cells.