Cell Stem Cell
Volume 27, Issue 4, 1 October 2020, Pages 557-573
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Review
Epithelial Plasticity during Liver Injury and Regeneration

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2020.08.016Get rights and content
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Summary

Following injury, the liver’s epithelial cells regenerate efficiently with rapid proliferation of hepatocytes and biliary cells. However, when proliferation of resident epithelial cells is impaired, alternative regeneration mechanisms can occur. Intricate lineage-tracing strategies and experimental models of regenerative stress have revealed a degree of plasticity between hepatocytes and biliary cells. New technologies such as single-cell omics, in combination with functional studies, will be instrumental to uncover the remaining unknowns in the field. In this review, we evaluate the experimental and clinical evidence for epithelial plasticity in the liver and how this influences the development of therapeutic strategies for chronic liver disease.

Keywords

liver regeneration
hepatocyte
biliary epithelial cell
hepatic progenitor cell
plasticity
transdifferentiation
reprogramming
cell therapy
lineage-tracing

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2

These authors contributed equally