Culture of mouse embryonic stem cells with serum but without exogenous growth factors is sufficient to generate functional hepatocyte-like cells.

Mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC) have been used to study lineage specification in vitro, including towards a hepatocyte-like fate, and such investigations guided lineage differentiation protocols for human (h)ESC. We recently described a four-step protocol to induce hepatocyte-like cells from hESC which also induced hepatocyte-like cell differentiation of mouse induced pluripotent stem cells. As ESC also spontaneously generate hepatocyte-like cells, we here tested whether the growth factors and serum used in this protocol are required to commit mESC and hESC to hepatocyte-like cells.

Outcomes of long-term administration of intravenous hepatitis B immunoglobulins for the prevention of recurrent hepatitis B after liver transplantation.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of lifelong therapy with intravenous hepatitis B immunoglobulins (i.v. HBIg) to prevent recurrence of hepatitis B after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT).

Directed differentiation of murine-induced pluripotent stem cells to functional hepatocyte-like cells.

Background & Aims: Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells exert phenotypic and functional characteristics of embryonic stem cells even though the gene expression pattern is not completely identical. Therefore, it is important to develop procedures which are specifically oriented to induce iPS cell differentiation.

Methods: In this study, we describe the differentiation of mouse iPS cells to hepatocyte-like cells, following a directed differentiation procedure that mimics embryonic and fetal liver development.

Human embryonic and rat adult stem cells with primitive endoderm-like phenotype can be fated to definitive endoderm, and finally hepatocyte-like cells.

Stem cell-derived hepatocytes may be an alternative cell source to treat liver diseases or to be used for pharmacological purposes. We developed a protocol that mimics mammalian liver development, to differentiate cells with pluripotent characteristics to hepatocyte-like cells. The protocol supports the stepwise differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (ESC) to cells with characteristics of primitive streak (PS)/mesendoderm (ME)/definitive endoderm (DE), hepatoblasts, and finally cells with phenotypic and functional characteristics of hepatocytes.