earticle

영어

Whole liver transplantation, the currently available treatment of end-stage liver disease, has limitations including serious donor shortage, fatal surgical complications, risk of allograft rejection, and the requirement of life-long immunosuppression. In this study, we investigated the possibility of reconstructing liver tissues in vivo by implanting fetal hepatocytes on polymer
scaffolds as a potential method to replace the current treatments. Fetal hepatocytes were freshly isolated from mice and seeded onto porous mesh scaffolds fabricated from polyglycolic acid, a biodegradable synthetic polymer. The seeded scaffolds were implanted into peritoneal cavity of athymic mice for one week. As a control, fetal hepatocytes were implanted without scaffold. One week after transplantation, liver-like tissues formed. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses indicated that the hepatocytes and liver tissue structures (bile ducts) were present in the newly formed tissues. In the control group, no transplanted hepatocytes were observed. Theses preliminary results suggest that liver tissues may be regeneration by transplanting fetal hepatocytes on polymer scaffolds.

한국어

본 연구에서는 생분해성 고분자 담체인 PGA 담체에 부착된 간세포의 이식을 통해서 이식된 간세포가 괴사하지 않고 남아있으며 간 조직 구조의 일종인 담세관 유사구조를 확인하였다. 조직공학적인 간세포 이식 방법의 개발은 간 질환에 새로운 치료방법 개발의 가능성을 열어줄 수 있다.