Progress in stem cell biology in regenerative medicine for liver disease

Regenerative medicine using stem cells has attracted much attention, since stem cells are responsible for highly proliferative activity and multipotential ability of differentiation. Induced pluripotent stem cells and embryonic stem cells or the adult stem cells such as bone marrow-derived stem cells and adipose tissue-derived stem cells have been expected as a cell source of regenerative medicine. Since differentiating methods of human stem cells into the defined lineage of cells remains to be developed, we focus on the differentiating strategies of pluripotent stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells into liver lineage, especially on cytokine function and gene expression during hepatic differentiation. The survey of previously published papers discloses that the protocols that mimic the liver developmental process seem to be effective in obtaining functional hepatocytes. However, in order to develop hepatic regenerative medicine that is useful in a clinical setting, more effective and potent strategies that obtain mature hepatocytes are required.