ABSTRACT
A great deal of work with animal models indicates that hepatocytes transplanted into
the liver or spleen survive, function, and participate in the normal regenerative
process. Recent clinical studies suggest that hepatocyte transplantation may be useful
for bridging patients to whole organ transplantation and for providing metabolic support
during liver failure and for replacing whole organ transplantation in certain metabolic
liver diseases. In specific situations where the rate of death of host hepatocytes
is high, the transplanted cells can repopulate the native liver. Techniques have been
established for the large scale isolation, culture, and cryopreservation of human
hepatocytes. Shortage of donor organs and the need for immunosuppression are two major
hurdles to widespread application of this procedure, and current research in experimental
animals is aimed at addressing these problems.
KEY WORDS
hepatocyte - transplantation
