Clinical observation on the treatment of severe hepatitis with hepatocyte transplantation / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effects and safety of human hepatocytes transplantation in vivo for the treatment of liver failure. Methods The primary human hepatocytes were collected from normal liver tissue donated by healthy volunteers and preserved by cryopreservation technique. After thawing, the hepatocytes were transplanted into the spleen of patients with severe hepatitis through catheterization of the femoral artery. Then the changes in clinical symptoms, serum biochemical indexes and MRI signals of the spleen were observed in the patients. Results A total of 2?10 10 hepatocytes were isolated from normal liver tissue of healthy volunteers and 75% of the hepatocytes were alive after cryopreservation and thawing. The number of transplanted hepatocytes was 2?109. In the recipients, the clinical symptoms were markedly improved, serum levels of bilirubin, NH_3, ALT and AST were significantly reduced, but that of PTA remarkably increased, after hepatocyte transplantation. The follow-up examination was performed 80d and 270d after discharge from the hospital, and it was showed that all the serum biochemical indexes returned to normal and signals of the hepatocytes were found in the spleen. Conclusions Hepatocyte transplantation is a safe and effective therapy for severe hepatitis. The transplanted hepatocytes can proliferate and differentiate in the spleen to replace or partially compensate the liver function of synthesis, detoxication and metabolism. Contrast enhanced MRI can be a new method for follow-up study of transplanted hepatocytes.