Adult hepatic stem cells have not been identified in quiescent liver and for this reason not yet isolated. The progeny of adult hepatic stem cells, adult hepatic progenitor cells named also oval cells (OC) arise from a reserve hepatic compartment and they proliferate and differentiate into hepatocytes and cholangiocytes when the regenerative capacity of terminally differentiated hepatocytes is exhausted or blocked. OC possess important features that can make them valuable for cell and gene therapy: (1) A small number of OC should be able to repopulate the liver; (2) OC are bipotent and can differentiate into both hepatic epithelial cells types; (3) OC could be propagated to expand in vitro and used for multiple transplantations; (4) They could be cryopreserved and used as needed; and (5) OC could be manipulated in vitro for use in gene therapy. Adult hepatocytes do not exhibit these characteristics. In our research, we have made important contributions in the OC field: (1) We have identified and validated novel surface markers and used them for isolation and characterization of OC; (2) We have shown that OC and Thy-1+ cells are separate cell types; (3) We have performed gene expression analysis of isolated, pure OC and showed that they display a mixed epithelial/mesenchymal phenotype; and (4) We have demonstrated for the first time that oval cells repopulate a preconditioned rat liver and differentiate in vivo into both hepatocytes and cholangiocytes. We have also identified the major mesenchymal cells in the OC compartment: the Thy-1 cells. We have also characterized these cells and found that they produce cytokines and growth factors necessary for the OC growth. The goal of this proposal is: (1) To identify and isolate the hepatic epithelial stem/progenitor cell from rat fetal liver that represent a reserve stem cell compartment, which gives rise to OC in the liver when regenerative capacity of hepatocytes are compromised. (2) We will study also the origin of mesenchymal Thy-1 cells that proliferate in parallel with OC in their niche. (3) We will study further how OC compartment is activated and what are the specific factors, cytokines and growth factors that trigger their proliferation and how this proliferation is modulated. Such factor/s must be different from normal liver regeneration, as OC do not proliferate in the liver when hepatocyte proliferation is not compromised. These results will assist us in designing best conditions for long-term propagation of OC in culture. (3) Finally, experiments are designed to augment liver repopulation by stimulating oval cells expansion with several cytokines: IL-6, HGF and TWEAK and by inhibiting hepatocyte proliferation. Oval cell will be used in somatic cell therapy by transplanting OC from Long Evans Agouti (LEA) rats into Long Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats, a rat model of Wilson's disease and for gene therapy by introducing the wild type gene into OC of LEC rats and transplanting them back into the diseased liver.
The goal of this project is to identify and isolate hepatic stem/progenitor cells that give rise to oval cells;to study the molecular mechanisms underlying the activation of these cells;to identify factors and signaling molecules that participate in oval cell growth;to determine the nature of the supporting cells in the oval cell compartment, the mesenchymal Thy-1 cells and to establish a long-term propagable culture of OC, capable of reconstituting the injured liver;to establish conditions for somatic cell and gene therapy in animal models.
