Long-term, near-total liver replacement by transplantation of isolated hepatocytes in rats treated with retrorsine

E Laconi, R Oren, DK Mukhopadhyay, E Hurston… - The American journal of …, 1998 - Elsevier
E Laconi, R Oren, DK Mukhopadhyay, E Hurston, S Laconi, P Pani, MD Dabeva, DA Shafritz
The American journal of pathology, 1998Elsevier
Genetically marked hepatocytes from dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP) IV+ Fischer 344 rats were
transplanted into the liver of DPPIV− mutant Fischer 344 rats after a combined treatment with
retrorsine, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid that blocks the hepatocyte cell cycle, and two-thirds partial
hepatectomy. In female rats, clusters of proliferated DPPIV+ hepatocytes containing 20 to 50
cells/cluster, mostly derived from single transplanted cells, were evident at 2 weeks,
increasing in size to hundreds of cells per cluster at 1 month and 1000 to several thousand …
Genetically marked hepatocytes from dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP) IV+ Fischer 344 rats were transplanted into the liver of DPPIV mutant Fischer 344 rats after a combined treatment with retrorsine, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid that blocks the hepatocyte cell cycle, and two-thirds partial hepatectomy. In female rats, clusters of proliferated DPPIV+hepatocytes containing 20 to 50 cells/cluster, mostly derived from single transplanted cells, were evident at 2 weeks, increasing in size to hundreds of cells per cluster at 1 month and 1000 to several thousand cells per cluster at 2 months, representing 40 to 60% of total hepatocyte mass. This level of hepatocyte replacement remained constant for up to 1 year, the duration of experiments conducted. In male rats, liver replacement occurred more rapidly and was more extensive, with transplanted hepatocytes representing 10 to 15% of hepatocyte mass at 2 weeks, 40 to 50% at 1 month, 90 to 95% at 2 months, 98% at 4 months, and 99% at 9 months. Transplanted hepatocytes were integrated into the parenchymal plates, exhibited unique hepatic biochemical functions, and fully reconstituted a normal hepatic lobular structure. The extensive proliferation of transplanted cells in this setting of persistent inhibition of resident hepatocytes represents a new general model to study basic aspects of liver repopulation with potential applications in chronic liver disease andex vivo gene therapy.
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