Brief Article
Copyright ©2010 Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 21, 2010; 16(31): 3928-3935
Published online Aug 21, 2010. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i31.3928
Liver sinusoidal endothelial and biliary cell repopulation following irradiation and partial hepatectomy
Petra Krause, Margret Rave-Fränk, Hendrik Andreas Wolff, Heinz Becker, Hans Christiansen, Sarah Koenig
Petra Krause, Heinz Becker, Sarah Koenig, Department of General Surgery, University Medical Centre Goettingen, 37099 Goettingen, Germany
Margret Rave-Fränk, Hendrik Andreas Wolff, Hans Christiansen, Department of Radiotherapy, University Medical Centre Goettingen, 37099 Goettingen, Germany
Author contributions: Krause P, Koenig S and Becker H design the research; Krause P, Rave-Fränk M and Koenig S performed the research; Christiansen H, Andreas Wolff H and Rave-Fränk M performed the animal irradiation; Krause P and Koenig S analysed the data; Koenig S and Krause P wrote the paper.
Correspondence to: Dr. Sarah Koenig, Department of General Surgery, University Medical Centre Goettingen, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, 37075 Goettingen, Germany. skoenig1@gwdg.de
Telephone: +49-551-398977 Fax: +49-551-396107
Received: March 7, 2010
Revised: April 26, 2010
Accepted: May 3, 2010
Published online: August 21, 2010
Abstract

AIM: To investigate whether irradiation (IR) and partial hepatectomy (PH) may prepare the host liver for non-parenchymal cell (NPC) transplantation.

METHODS: Livers of dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV)-deficient rats were pre-conditioned with external beam IR (25 Gy) delivered to two-thirds of the right liver lobules followed by a one-third PH of the untreated lobule. DPPIV-positive liver cells (NPC preparations enriched for liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) and hepatocytes) were transplanted via the spleen into the recipient livers. The extent and quality of donor cell engraftment and growth was studied over a long-term interval of 16 wk after transplantation.

RESULTS: Host liver staining demonstrated 3 different repopulation types. Well defined clusters of donor-derived hepatocytes with canalicular expression of DPPIV were detectable either adjacent to or in between large areas of donor cells (covering up to 90% of the section plane) co-expressing the endothelial marker platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule. The third type consisted of formations of DPPIV-positive duct-like structures which co-localized with biliary epithelial CD49f.

CONCLUSION: Liver IR and PH as a preconditioning stimulus enables multiple cell liver repopulation by donor hepatocytes, LSECs, and bile duct cells.

Keywords: Cell transplants; Dipeptidyl peptidase IV protein; Endothelial cells; Liver cell transplantation; Liver irradiation; Liver repopulation