Patent ID: 7256042

Claim:
A method for producing hepatocyte lineage cells from primate pluripotent stem (pPS) cells, comprising culturing the pPS cells in a medium comprising a hepatocyte lineage differentiation agent selected from sodium butyrate, n-butyric acid, trichosratin A, propionic acid, isobutyric acid, and isovaleric acid, wherein the method produces hepatocyte lineage cells; wherein the hepatocyte lineage cells have at least three of the following characteristics: antibody-detectable expression of α 1 -antitrypsin; antibody-detectable expression of albumin; absence of antibody-detectable expression of α-fetoprotein; RT-PCR detectable expression of asialoglycoprotein receptor; evidence of glycogen storage; evidence of cytochrome p450 activity; evidence of glucose-6-phosphatase activity; or the morphological features of hepatocytes.