Hepatocyte Transplantation (hepatocyte + transplantation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Hepatocyte transplantation in the treatment of liver diseases , Future seems bright after all

PEDIATRIC TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 1 2008
R. D. Hughes
No abstract is available for this article. [source]


A reversibly immortalized human hepatocyte cell line as a source of hepatocyte-based biological support

ADDICTION BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2001
Naoya Kobayashi
The application of hepatocyte transplantation (HTX) is increasingly envisioned for temporary metabolic support during acute liver failure and provision of specific liver functions in inherited liver-based metabolic diseases. Compared with whole liver transplantation, HTX is a technically simple procedure and hepatocytes can be cryopreserved for future use. A major limitation of this form of therapy in humans is the worldwide shortage of human livers for isolating an adequate number of transplantable human hepatocyes when needed. Furthermore, the numbers of donor livers available for hepatocyte isolation is limited by competition for their use in whole organ transplantation. Considering the cost of hepatocyte isolation and the need for immediate preparation of consistent and functional cells, it is unlikely that human hepatocytes can be obtained on such a scale to treat a large number of patients with falling liver functions. The utilization of xenogenic hepatocytes will result in additional concerns regarding transmission of infectious pathogens and immunological and physiological incompatibilities between animals and humans. An attractive alternative to primary human hepatocytes is the use of tightly regulated human hepatocyte cell lines. Such cell lines can provide the advantages of unlimited availability, sterility and uniformity. We describe here methods for creating transplantable human hepatocyte cell lines using currently available cell cultures and gene transfer technology. [source]


Temporary amelioration of bilirubin conjugation defect in Gunn rats by transplanting conditionally immortalized hepatocytes

JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, Issue 6 2002
BYUNG-HO KIM
Abstract Background: Conditionally immortalized hepatocytes (CIH) have been used in hepatocyte transplantation as an alternative to primary hepatocytes to cope with the shortage of donor organs. However, CIH are known to undergo apoptosis at body temperature and survive in vivo for a short period. In the present study, we investigated whether CIH function or not and how long their function is maintained in vivo. Methods: Various CIH cell lines that were established with temperature-sensitive Simian virus 40 large T antigen were transplanted into the spleen of Gunn rats, which are defective in bilirubin uridine diphosphate glucuronoside transferase (BUGT). Then, we measured biological changes over 3 months. Results: Serum bilirubin of the syngeneic CIH recipients decreased by 30%, which was maintained for 8 weeks. Thereafter, it began to rise to basal levels. The recipients of allogeneic CIH showed a minor reduction of bilirubin, although this was not statistically significant. However, there was no significant change in the bilirubin level in recipients of BUGT-defective congeneic CIH throughout the study period. Bilirubin monoglucuronides in the bile were not detected in the recipients of BUGT-defective CIH. However, they appeared in recipients of non-defective CIH and made up approximately 41% of total bile pigments. Conclusions: Conditionally immortalized hepatocytes expressed hepatocyte function in vivo as well as in vitro, but the function lasted for a couple of months. According to our previous study, the limited functional duration may be related to the inevitable occurrence of apoptosis of these cells at body temperature. These data suggest that CIH can be used in hepatocyte transplantation only for temporary hepatic support. © 2002 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd [source]


Current role of liver transplantation for the treatment of urea cycle disorders: A review of the worldwide English literature and 13 cases at Kyoto University

LIVER TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 11 2005
Daisuke Morioka
To address the current role of liver transplantation (LT) for urea cycle disorders (UCDs), we reviewed the worldwide English literature on the outcomes of LT for UCD as well as 13 of our own cases of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for UCD. The total number of cases was 51, including our 13 cases. The overall cumulative patient survival rate is presumed to be more than 90% at 5 years. Most of the surviving patients under consideration are currently doing well with satisfactory quality of life. One advantage of LDLT over deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) is the opportunity to schedule surgery, which beneficially affects neurological consequences. Auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation (APOLT) is no longer considered significant for the establishment of gene therapies or hepatocyte transplantation but plays a significant role in improving living liver donor safety; this is achieved by reducing the extent of the hepatectomy, which avoids right liver donation. Employing heterozygous carriers of the UCDs as donors in LDLT was generally acceptable. However, male hemizygotes with ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD) must be excluded from donor candidacy because of the potential risk of sudden-onset fatal hyperammonemia. Given this possibility as well as the necessity of identifying heterozygotes for other disorders, enzymatic and/or genetic assays of the liver tissues in cases of UCDs are essential to elucidate the impact of using heterozygous carrier donors on the risk or safety of LDLT donor-recipient pairs. In conclusion, LT should be considered to be the definitive treatment for UCDs at this stage, although some issues remain unresolved. (Liver Transpl 2005;11:1332,1342.) [source]


Hepatic tissue engineering for adjunct and temporary liver support: Critical technologies

LIVER TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 11 2004
Christina Chan
The severe donor liver shortage, high cost, and complexity of orthotopic liver transplantation have prompted the search for alternative treatment strategies for end-stage liver disease, which would require less donor material, be cheaper, and less invasive. Hepatic tissue engineering encompasses several approaches to develop adjunct internal liver support methods, such as hepatocyte transplantation and implantable hepatocyte-based devices, as well as temporary extracorporeal liver support techniques, such as bioartificial liver assist devices. Many tissue engineered liver support systems have passed the "proof of principle" test in preclinical and clinical studies; however, they have not yet been found sufficiently reliably effective for routine clinical use. In this review we describe, from an engineering perspective, the progress and remaining challenges that must be resolved in order to develop the next generation of implantable and extracorporeal devices for adjunct or temporary liver assist. (Liver Transpl 2004;10:1331,1342.) [source]


IFN-, gene therapy by intrasplenic hepatocyte transplantation: a novel strategy for reversing hepatic fibrosis in Schistosoma japonicum -infected mice

PARASITE IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 1 2001
Lihuang Zhang
Liver-targeted gene therapy using hepatocyte as recipient cells has recently been documented to be effective in treatment of numerous hepatic diseases, such as metabolic diseases and liver carcinoma. IFN-, elicits antipreliferative and antifibrogenic activity in a variety of mesenchymal cells, including hepatic satellite cells. To investigate the antifibrogenic response of liver gene therapy mediated by intrasplenic transplantation of gene-modified hepatocytes, normal mouse liver cell line BNL CL.2 cells were transfected with murine IFN-, gene (BNL.IFN-,) in vitro, and transplanted intrasplenically into Schistosoma japonicum -infected mice. The amounts and distribution of IFN-, (which inhibits collagen synthesis), TGF-, (which stimulates collagen synthesis) and extracellular matrix, including type I and III collagen, were detected. In mice infected with S. japonicum and then treated with BNL.IFN-,, an increase of IFN-, and decrease of TGF-,1 were detected at 20 weeks postinfection compared to untreated S. japonicum -infected mice. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that S. japonicum infection induced a marked increase of type I and III collagen synthesis. Whereas, 4 weeks after treatment with BNL.IFN-,, net synthesis rates of type I and III collagen were markedly decreased in the liver of infected mice. In addition, a decreased expression of TGF-,1 and its receptor TGF-,RII in the liver of BNL.IFN-,-treated mice was also observed. Moreover, the decrease in TGF-,1 and TGF-,RII protein approximately paralleled the decrease in their mRNA expression, which was detected by RNA dot blotting. The data indicate that intrasplenic transplantation of IFN-, gene-modified hepatocyte can be a candidate approach to treat hepatic fibrosis. [source]


Hepatic proliferation in Gunn rats transplanted with hepatocytes: effect of retrorsine and tri-iodothyronine

CELL PROLIFERATION, Issue 3 2005
F. J. Cubero
However, a major problem in most transplantation studies to date has been the limited growth of transplanted cells in the recipient organ. We performed a strategy for selective proliferation of transplanted cells by interfering with the proliferative capacity of resident hepatocytes, using the pyrrolizidine alkaloid retrorsine and then transplanting liver cells in conjunction with repeated administration of triiodothyronine, an inducer of hepatocyte proliferation in rats. In the present study, foetal and adult syngeneic hepatocyte transplantation into spleen was performed in retrorsine-treated hyperbilirubinemic Gunn rats. In parallel, repeated injections of triiodothyronine were given to recipients. Rats were sacrificed at 1, 7, 30 and 90 days after transplantation and blood and bile samples were taken to assess the functionality of transplanted cells. The proliferative activity of transplanted hepatocytes was evaluated using proliferating cell nuclear antigen labelling index. In summary, both adult and foetal hepatocyte transplantation were effective in correcting a metabolic abnormality in Gunn rats for as long as 3 months. The RS/T3 model, as a measure to increase graft function, could represent an important advance to future clinical application of hepatocyte transplantation. [source]