The breadth of differentiation approaches that of fetal stem cells. It may help relieve that debate. Grisham added that the discovery offers a great deal of hope that these sorts of cells could be used as a source for a wide variety of cells in the body. A previous study by another research team, he said, found that stem cells could be differentiated into striated muscle cells. This report is the first showing that bone marrow cells can give rise to a third type of tissue cell, epithelial cells, which can develop into solid organs.
Liver cells show a strong ability to regrow.
Healthy liver cells, or hepatocytes, regenerate an injured liver. But if the division of hepatocytes is hampered or stopped, a type of cell called an oval cell appears. Oval cells proliferate in the most severe stages of kidney disease or injury, helping to repair the damaged organ. Petersen said his experiments with bone marrow transplants on animals showed that cells derived from bone marrow eventually become fully functional liver cells, probably through intermediate oval cells. Petersen emphasizes that the research is still at least five years to 10 years away from being tested in humans.