Study and application of bone marrow stem cells in the treatment of liver disease / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The investigation of curing liver disease with stem cell makes a notable performance. This article intends to review the status of clinical and empirical study of stem cell transplants. DATA SOURCES A computer-based search was conducted in Pubmed for English articles about bone marrow stem cells cure liver ailment published between January 1995 and June 2006 with the Keywords of "bone marrow stem cell, hemopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, hepatic fibrosis". Meanwhile, relevant Chinese articles were searched in Chinese Journal Full-text Database with the key words of "bone marrow stem cell, hemopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, hepatic fibrosis". STUDY SELECTION Data were checked in the first trial and articles about the bone marrow stem cell and liver disease therapy are selected, while obvious unrelated literatures or repetitive study were excluded. DATA EXTRACTION A total of 58 related English articles and 40 Chinese articles were collected, including 36 studies about bone marrow stem cells, 24 researches on mesenchymal stem cells and 14 about hemopoietic stem cells, 30 literatures of them in accordance with the inclusion criteria were reviewed. DATA SYNTHESIS: There are all kinds of stem cells in bone marrow that can differentiate other kinds of cells, including mesenchymal stem cells and hemopoietic stem cells. Both animal trials and clinical researches show that hemopoietic stem cells can differentiate into liver cells and hepatic oval cells and is mature to participate in the liver regeneration. Mesenchymal stem cells are homogeneous cells with multi-differentiation potentials and can be differentiated into liver cells and bile duct cells. Bone marrow stem cell therapy has many merits than traditional methods, for example simple materials, culture in vitro, passage and easy amplification, indicating a great achievement in clinic. CONCLUSION: We can use bone marrow stem cell therapy for all kinds of refractory hepatopathy, such as hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatoma etc. It will not only improve haematogenesis and immune function, but also replace necrosis and lost hepatic cell, leading a perfect boundary of hepatopathy therapy.