A mouse model of liver injury to evaluate paracrine and endocrine effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

Abstract

Liver fibrosis is the result of chronic liver disease, which is caused by sustaining multiple damage or injury to the liver. While the liver continues to receive injuries, it suffers from the wound healing process and this eventually leads to the derangement of the liver architecture. Recently, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) have been suggested to have therapeutic effects in treating liver fibrosis. Here, we describe the isolation, purification, culture, and transplantation of BM-MSCs in the liver fibrosis mouse model, and the assessment of paracrine and endocrine (including androgens and/or estrogens) effects of BM-MSCs in the in vitro cell culture system.