Bryon Petersen, lead author of the study to be published Friday in the journal Science, said the work is the first step toward learning how to rescue failing livers using the body's own stem cells. Petersen said that in new experiments he already has shown that injecting the special marrow cells into rats causes the animals to form new liver tissue. Although the work only has been demonstrated in laboratory animals, Petersen said other studies strongly suggest humans also have bone marrow cells that will convert into liver cells. But he cautioned that perfecting the technique for humans may take a decade. Vierling said that other researchers have been trying with little success to find in the liver stem cells that could make new tissue.
Liver disease is a very serious problem.
The American Liver Foundation says about 26,000 Americans die annually from liver disease. About 5 million in the U.S. are infected with hepatitis B or C, virus diseases that are a major cause of liver failure. Petersen said that his research investigated how some people with liver failures are able to grow new liver tissue. Some patients with failing livers recover after the organ spontaneously grows new cells, he said. The liver often can generate new hepatocytes, or a type of healthy liver cells, after an injury or disease.