The role of sinusoidal endothelial cells in regulating hepatoblast proliferation and differentiation in developing human

肝功能衰竭是一种致命的疾病。目前，仅靠肝移植就可以恢复正常生活。可悲的是，许多患者在等待新的肝脏移植时死去。迫切需要新的治疗方法。肝干细胞治疗为治疗肝功能衰竭提供了一种新的方法。例如，短期的肝脏支持可以通过基于干细胞的装置来提供，类似于肾透析，以允许患者自己的肝脏恢复。这将为那些无法通过任何其他方法治疗的人节省肝脏移植。在那些因为供体器官来得太晚而死于肝功能衰竭的患者中，这种设备可以充当通往肝移植的桥梁。细胞移植，而不是肝脏移植，也可能提供健康的功能细胞。这可能对暴发性肝功能衰竭以及儿童和成人的代谢性肝病有利。肝窦内皮细胞(SECs)是排列在肝脏血管内的细胞。最近的研究表明，SECs对肝脏发育至关重要。本项目旨在确定SECS对肝细胞成熟的影响以及作用于发育中的肝细胞的正常信号。这些数据将是人类肝病干细胞疗法发展的核心。

Liver failure is a fatal disease. Currently, liver transplantation alone allows recovery to normal life. Sadly, many patients die waiting for a new liver. New treatments are urgently required.Liver stem cell therapy offers a new approach in liver failure. For example, short term liver support may be provided by stem-cell based devices, in a manner analogous to kidney dialysis, to allow recovery of the patient‘s own liver. This would spare liver transplantation for those who cannot be treated by any other means. In those patients who die of liver failure because a donor organ comes too late, this device could act as a bridge to liver transplantation. Cell transplant, rather than liver transplant, may also provide healthy functioning cells. This could be of benefit to fulminant liver failure, as well as metabolic liver disease in children and adults.Sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs) are cells lining the blood vessels in the liver. Recent studies indicate that SECs are critical to liver development. This project aims to determine the effect of SECs on liver cell maturation and the normal signals acting on developing liver cells. These data will be central to the development of stem cell therapies for human liver disease.