Application potential of mesenchymal stem cells derived from Wharton's jelly in liver tissue engineering
Issue title: Selected Papers from the 5th China–France International Symposium “Stem Cells: From Bench to Bedside”, 12–14 December 2013, Kunming, China
Affiliations: Affiliated Calmette Hospital of Kun Ming Medical University, Kun Ming, China | CNRS, UMR 7365, Biopole, Faculté de Médecine, Vandœuvre-lés-Nancy, France
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Lei Zhang, Affiliated Calmette Hospital of Kun Ming Medical University, 650011 Kun Ming, China. E-mail: zlei01@hotmail.com
Abstract: The shortage of organ resource has been limiting the application of liver transplantation. Bioartificial liver construction is increasingly focused as a replacement treatment. To product a bioartificial liver, three elements must be considered: seeding cells, scaffold and bioreactor. Recent studies have shown that several methods can successfully differentiate MSC (mesenchymal stem cells) derived from Wharton's jelly into hepatocyte, such as stimulating MSC by cytokines and growth factors, direct and indirect co-culture MSC with hepatocytes, or promote MSC differentiation by 3-dimensional matrix. In some cases, differentiation of MSC into hepatocytes can also be an alternative approach for whole organ transplantation in treatment of acute and chronic liver diseases. In this review, the characterization of MSC from Wharton's jelly, their potential of application in liver tissue engineering on base of decellularized scaffold, their status of banking and their preclinical work performed will be discussed.
