Liver disease is a major health problem that endangers human health worldwide. Currently, whole organ allograft transplantation is the gold standard for the treatment of end-stage liver disease. A shortage of suitable organs, high costs and surgical complications limit the application of liver transplantation. Mesenchymal stem cell therapy has been considered as a promising alternative approach for end-stage liver disease. Some clinical trials have confirmed the effectiveness of MSC therapy for liver disease, but its application has not been promoted and approved. There are still many issues that should be solved prior to using MSC therapy in clinical applications. The types of liver disease that are most suitable for MSC application should be determined, and the preparation and engraftment of MSCs should be standardized. These may be bottlenecks that limit the use of MSCs. We investigated 22 completed and several ongoing clinical trials to discuss these questions from a clinical perspective. We also discussed the important mechanisms by which MSCs play a therapeutic role in liver disease. Finally, we also proposed novel prospective approaches that can improve the therapeutic effect of MSCs.

中文翻译：

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间充质干细胞疗法治疗肝脏疾病：充满机遇和挑战

肝病是危害全球人类健康的主要健康问题。目前，全器官同种异体移植是治疗晚期肝病的金标准。缺乏合适的器官，高昂的费用和外科手术并发症限制了肝移植的应用。间充质干细胞治疗已被认为是终末期肝病的一种有前途的替代方法。一些临床试验已经证实了MSC疗法对肝病的有效性，但是其应用尚未得到推广和批准。在临床应用中使用MSC治疗之前，仍有许多问题需要解决。应确定最适合于MSC应用的肝病类型，并应标准化MSC的制备和植入。这些可能是限制MSC使用的瓶颈。我们调查了22个已完成且正在进行的临床试验，以从临床角度讨论这些问题。我们还讨论了MSC在肝病中发挥治疗作用的重要机制。最后，我们还提出了新的前瞻性方法，可以改善MSC的治疗效果。