Hepatocytes are arranged into cords, separated by vascular
sinusoids: image via siumed.edu There is a much greater demand
for liver transplants than there are available livers. But a
liver transplant may not be the only way to patient on the
waiting list in the future. Now, there is hope that a new
technology might help the body enhance the production of healthy
cells, so that the liver could literally repair itself. The
liver produces two kinds of cells: bile duct cells and
hepatocyte cells. Hepatocyte cells perform a cleansing function
in the liver, flushing out toxins, but In diseased liver tissue,
such as cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis, the liver produces more
bile duct cells. Researchers at the Medical Research Council
(MRC) Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of
Edinburgh, together with researchers from Glasgow, Belgium, and
the Netherlands, have discovered how to encourage the production
of hepatocyte cells in greater abundance. They increased the
production of hepatocyte cells by alteri