Published online Jul 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i27.9098
Revised: February 27, 2014
Accepted: April 15, 2014
Published online: July 21, 2014
End-stage disease due to liver cirrhosis is an important cause of death worldwide. Cirrhosis results from progressive, extensive fibrosis and impaired hepatocyte regeneration. The only curative treatment is liver transplantation, but due to the several limitations of this procedure, the interest in alternative therapeutic strategies is increasing. In particular, the potential of bone marrow stem cell (BMSC) therapy in cirrhosis has been explored in different trials. In this article, we evaluate the results of 18 prospective clinical trials, and we provide a descriptive overview of recent advances in the research on hepatic regenerative medicine. The main message from the currently available data in the literature is that BMSC therapy is extremely promising in the context of liver cirrhosis. However, its application should be further explored in randomized, controlled trials with large cohorts and long follow-ups.
Core tip: In recent years, the role of bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) in liver regeneration has been explored in various clinical trials. Because these trials were very diverse, we conducted a descriptive overview to understand the effects of BMSC transplantation on liver histology and morphology, on laboratory parameters and prognostic scores, and finally, on clinical manifestations and quality of life. This overview suggests that the efficacy of BMSC therapy might be temporary, and therefore, repeated cycles of BMSCs could be useful to achieve a sustained benefit.