Patent ID: 8691579

Claim:
A method of obtaining a population of cells enriched in human bipotent hepatic progenitors comprising: (a) obtaining a cell suspension of human liver cells and (b) sequentially, in any order, or substantially simultaneously, (i) removing from the cell suspension those cells that express at least one human MHC class Ia antigen, (ii) isolating from the cell suspension those cells that are positive for an ICAM antigen; and (iii) isolating from the cell suspension those cells that exhibit at least one of the following characteristics: (1) expression of at least one of CD44H, alpha-fetoprotein, albumin or CK19, or (2) higher side scatter (SSC) relative to non-parenchymal cells as measured in a flow cytometer to provide a population of cells enriched in human hepatic progenitors having a capacity to differentiate into a hepatocyte or a biliary cell when exposed to differentiation-inducing growth conditions.