Comparative study on effect of mesenchymal stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells on treatment of experimental CCL4-induced liver fibrosis

Background: We speculated impacts of BM-MSCs and UC-EPCs on reversal of hepatic injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Fifty adult rats were divided into five groups: control group, CCl4A group, CCl4B group, CCl4/BM-MSCs group and CCl4/UC-EPCs group. Blood samples were driven to measure concentration of albumin and ALT. Quantitative expression of HGF, TGF-beta, MMP-2, and VEGF were assessed by PCR. Histological and immunohistochemistry examination of the liver tissue were performed. Results: There was elevating albumin (p < .05) and reducing ALT (p < .05) concentrations in groups treated with BM-MSCs and UC-EPCs compared to untreated CCL4A&B groups. UC-EPCs treated group have significantly higher MMP-2 and VEGF (p < .01) genes expression than BM-MSCs treated group. Furthermore, UC-EPCs were more valuable than BMMSCs in increasing gene expression of HGF (p < .05) and immunohistochemistry of alpha-SMA and Ki-67 (p < .01). BM-MSCs have significantly lower TGF-beta (p < .00) compared to UC-EPCs. Conclusion: This study highlighted on liver regeneration role of both UC-EPCs and BM-MSCs in liver fibrosis.