[Autologous bone marrow stem cell transplantation for treatment terminal liver diseases].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of autologous bone marrow-derived stem cell (BMSCs) transplantation in the treatment of liver failure and decompensated hepatic cirrhosis. METHODS: Bone marrow was harvested (65-95 ml) from 24 patients in the transplantation group. The BMSCs were isolated and infused into liver or spleen of patients via hepatic or splenic artery. At different time points after the transplantation, the patients' liver function and prothrombin time (PT) were evaluated, and the survival rate and symptoms of the patients were recorded. RESULTS: All the serum biochemical indexes remained stable 2 weeks after the transplantation, and at 4 weeks after transplantation, albumin level increased significantly in comparison with the preoperative level (P<0.05). At 12 weeks, the albumin level further increased (P<0.01) along with Pre-ALB (P<0.01), while total bilirubin, tolal bile acid, PT and fibrinogen were all significantly lowered (P<0.05), and globulin, ALT, and AST remained unchanged (P>0.05). One week after the transplantation, improved appetite was observed in 22 cases (91.67%), and 21 cases (87.5%) showed better physical strength; at 2 weeks, hepatic face improved in 15 cases (62.5%), and spider telangiectasia was significantly reduced in one case; at 12 weeks, the survival rate of the patients was 62.5%, and 9 died or gave up treatment due to chronic liver failure complicated by spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, hepatorenal syndrome, or DIC. No complications associated with the transplantation occurred in these patients. CONCLUSION: BMSC transplantation can significantly improve the liver function of patients with terminal liver disease with good safety and effectiveness.

Microarray analysis of gene-expression profile in hepatocellular carcinoma cell, BEL-7402, with stable suppression of hLRH-1 via a DNA vector-based RNA interference.

To establish a cell line with a permanent suppression of hLRH-1 in this study, a stable RNAi vector (pSineohLRH-1) targeting hLRH-1 was constructed and introduced into hepatocellular carcinoma cell, BEL-7402. By semiquantitative RT-PCR analysis, the expression of hLRH-1 in BEL-7402 cells carrying pSineohLRH-1 was shown to be significantly suppressed by up to approximately 60%. In addition, microarray analysis was carried out to assess the extent of altered gene expression in BEL-7402 cells with stable knockdown of hLRH-1. Direct comparison of gene-expression profiles of more than 18,000 genes showed that 405 of the expressed genes in hLRH-1-knockdown cells differed dramatically in expression levels from those in controls, which suggested the even extensive biological functions of hLRH-1. Interestingly, among those differentially expressed genes, some are cancer-associated such as Gadd45beta and PTEN, and their expressions were further validated. Although the identification of the exact relationship between these genes and hLRH-1 awaits intensive investigation, the findings of this study provide new insights into the mechanism by which hLRH-1 is involved in tumorigenesis.