Transforming Skin Cells into Liver Cells

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes and the University of California San Francisco have been researching ways to transform skin cells into fully functioning liver cells, and they think they have figured it out. Skin cells have already been transformed into heart cells, pancreas cells, and neurons. This sort of regenerative medicine saves many people from possible organ replacement.

Both of the above images are pictures of livers. The one on top is going through liver failure and the liver on bottom is healthy.

Previous problems scientists have encountered with changing skin cells into liver cells is getting the new cells to survive once they are in the liver. The problem: researchers were reprogramming the cells to a state called "pluripotent" or IPS cells. However, this pluripotent state did not always lead to a full transformation into liver cells.

Scientists at Gladstone and UCSF decided that instead of taking cells back to the pluripotent stage, they should take them to an intermediate stage. They transformed the skin cells into cells that were similar to an endoderm (Endoderm cells are cells that mature into many organs, including the liver). After a few weeks, the researchers noticed a transformation, the cells were shaped like liver cells and carried out liver-cell functions. The scientists tested the cells in the livers of mice and found that after two months the cells had already matured and were growing rapidly.

This breakthrough in regenerative medicine will prevent many people suffering from liver failure from getting a transplant. The scientists at UCSF and Gladstone think the results shown in the liver of mice are very promising and will most likely help reduce the amount of people with liver failure.

Holger Willenbring, MD, and Sheng Ding, PhD, are the scientists at Gladstone researching how to transform skin cells into functioning liver cells.

NOS Themes:

• Science is based on evidence
• Role of credibility
• Role of motivation and curiosity

Links:

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2014/02/111951/scientists-transform-skin-cells-functioning-liver-cells

http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2014/02/23/scientists_transform_skin_cells_into_functioning_liver_cells.html