Liver Fibrosis
Liver fibrosis is the scarring process that represents the liver’s response to injury. When the liver repairs injury it does so through the deposition of new collagen. Over time this process can result in cirrhosis of the liver in which the liver becomes so disrupted that blood flow through the liver and liver function become disrupted.1 Once cirrhosis has developed the serious complications of liver disease may occur including portal hypertension, liver failure and liver cancer.
With no standard treatment for liver fibrosis today, researchers are working hard in experimental studies using rodents to identify ways to prevent the progression of liver fibrosis. One study investigated the therapeutic potential of using human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs ) for the treatment of liver fibrosis in a rodent model of liver disease. 2,3
In this study hUC-MSCs were directly injected into rats’ livers and after 8 weeks of treatment, rats with hUC-MSCs transplants exhibited a significant reduction in liver fibrosis compared with rats treated without hUC-MSCs transplants. The results suggest that transplantation of hUC-MSCs could be a novel approach for treating liver fibrosis and may be a promising therapeutic intervention in the future.
