Establishment and characterization of hepatic stem-like cell lines from normal adult rat liver.

The liver is a unique organ with the potential to regenerate from injury. Hepatic stem cells contribute to liver regeneration when surviving hepatocytes in injured liver are unable to proliferate. To investigate the mechanism of liver regeneration in vitro, we established hepatic stem cell lines named HY1, HY2 and HY3, derived from a healthy liver of adult rat.