Stem cell‑derived hepatocyte precursor cells represent a promising model for clinical transplantation to diseased livers, as well as for establishment of in vitro systems for drug metabolism and toxicology studies. The present study aimed to establish a new method of induction of hepatocyte differentiation using various factors and evaluate the effect of different partial hepatectomies and the ...

AIM To investigate the differentiation potential of human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells (HuMSCs) and the key factors that facilitate hepatic differentiation. METHODS HuMSCs were induced to become hepatocyte-like cells according to a previously published protocol. The differentiation status of the hepatocyte-like cells was examined by observing the morphological changes under an inverted mi...

Hepatocyte apoptosis is a hallmark of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. We have previously observed that the saturated free fatty acids (FFAs) induce hepatocyte apoptosis in part via a death receptor 5 (DR5)-mediated signaling pathway. Cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein 1 and 2 (cIAP-1 and cIAP-2) proteins are potent inhibitors of death receptor-mediated apoptosis. However, the role of the cIA...

The gold standard for estimating the ability of a new chemical entity to induce the human cytochromes P450 (P450s) is to determine the increase in catalytic activity of these enzymes after treatment of primary cultures of human hepatocytes with the potential inducer. The limited availability of fresh human hepatocytes makes these studies impossible to perform on demand. A substrate cassette str...

Liver transplantation is presently the only curative treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease. However, the mechanisms underlying liver injury and hepatocyte proliferation posttransplantation remain obscure. In this investigation, liver injury and hepatocyte proliferation in syngeneic and allogeneic animal models were compared. Male Lewis and Dark Agouti (DA) rats were subjected to o...

We have established an in vivo/in vitro system in which epithelial cells ("oval cells") isolated from livers of rats fed a carcinogenic diet for a very brief period are placed in culture and transfected with an oncogene. Injection s.c. into nude mice of oval cells transfected with the activated r-I In-rav (EJ oncogene) produces tumors with morphological features of differentiated hepatocellular...

The prediction of human drug metabolites using in vitro experiments containing human-derived reagents is an important approach in modern drug research; however, this can be challenging for drugs that are slowly metabolized. In this report, we describe the use of a recently developed human hepatocyte relay method for the purpose of predicting human drug metabolite profiles. Five compounds for wh...

Due to the importance of in vitro cytochrome P450 (P450) induction assay to assess the possible drug-drug interaction events, the recent US Food and Drug Administration draft guidance and European Medicines Agency guideline recommend to assess P450 induction using fresh or cryopreserved hepatocytes at mRNA level and/or enzyme activity level. Although cryopreserved hepatocytes are commercially a...

Due to the importance of in vitro cytochrome P450 (P450) induction assay to assess the possible drug-drug interaction events, the recent US Food and Drug Administration draft guidance and European Medicines Agency guideline recommend to assess P450 induction using fresh or cryopreserved hepatocytes at mRNA level and/or enzyme activity level. Although cryopreserved hepatocytes are commercially a...

The liver is an essential organ in the body for detoxification drugs and toxic substances. present study was designed to investigate hepatoprotective effects of L-Cysteine, Ursodeoxycholic acid (Ursoflor), Silymarin against carbon tetrachloride-induced injury rats. Twenty adult male rats were used this work; they randomly divided into five groups (4 rats/group). first group served as control re...