Cell Plasticity in Liver Regeneration
Open accessAbstract
The liver, whose major functional cell type is the hepatocyte, is a peculiar organ with remarkable regenerative capacity. The widely held notion that hepatic progenitor cells contribute to injury-induced liver regeneration has long been debated. However, multiple lines of evidence suggest that the plasticity of differentiated cells is a major mechanism for the cell source in injury-induced liver regeneration. Investigating cell plasticity could potentially expand our understanding of liver physiology and facilitate the development of new therapies for liver diseases. In this review, we summarize the cell sources for hepatocyte regeneration and the clinical relevance of cell plasticity for human liver diseases. We focus on mechanistic insights on the injury-induced cell plasticity of hepatocytes and biliary epithelial cells and discuss future directions for investigation. Specifically, we propose the notion of 'reprogramming competence' to explain the plasticity of differentiated hepatocytes.
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When hepatocytes are senescent and fail to regenerate, alternative regenerative mechanisms are required to refuel the hepatocyte pool.
“The exception is when hepatocytes are senescent and fail to regenerate, and alternative regenerative mechanisms are then required to refuel the hepatocyte pool.14,15”
From Distinct hepatocyte identities in liver homeostasis and regeneration (2023) · cites this paper as [15]
Adult hepatocytes can undergo reprogramming to give rise to functional biliary epithelial cells (BECs) and ductal progenitors under certain conditions.
“This is particularly true for adult hepatocytes, which under certain conditions undergo reprogramming to give rise to functional biliary epithelial cells (BECs) and ductal progenitors.”
From HBO1 functions as an epigenetic barrier to hepatocyte plasticity and reprogramming during liver injury (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
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- Authors
- Li, W., Li, L., & Hui, L.
- Affiliations
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Hui, Lijian
- ORCID
- Hui, Lijian
- Venue
- Trends in Cell Biology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-04
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 329-338
- ISSN
- 0962-8924 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3006066671
- Cited by
- 167
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 5
- FWCI
- 3.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Trends in Cell Biology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Hepatology › Liver physiology and pathology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Genetics › Mesenchymal stem cell research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
- Keywords
- liver regeneration, cellular plasticity, hepatocytes, cholangiocytes, hepatic progenitor cells, liver disease, cell of origin
- MeSH terms
- Cell Plasticity, Animals, Epithelial Cells, Homeostasis, Humans, Liver Regeneration, Models, Biological, Hepatocytes
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