Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) could differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells in pathologic liver tissue and restore the injured livers. 
OBJECTIVE: To conclude and analyze biological characteristics of BMSCs and their clinical application in liver failure treatment. 
METHODS: We retrieved China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and PubMed databases for articles concerning research and application of BMSCs in liver failure treatment published from January 1997 to December 2009. The key words were “bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, liver failure” or “liver stem cells, liver disease”. The articles addressing BMSCs for liver failure, and the articles published recently or in authorized journals, were included. A total of 371 literatures were primarily selected, and 31 were included in accordance with inclusion criteria.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: BMSCs are a type of adult stem cells, which possess an extensive self-renewal potential and ability to differentiate into various cell types. Their ability of repairing the liver failure is by the mechanisms of transdifferentiation and cell fusion. With the development of research, BMSCs transplantation is gradually applied to treatment on liver failure. However, the study deserves further improvement.