Published online Mar 21, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i11.1974
Peer-review started: August 5, 2016
First decision: November 21, 2016
Revised: December 2, 2016
Accepted: January 11, 2017
Article in press: January 11, 2017
Published online: March 21, 2017
There is currently a pressing need for alternative therapies to liver transplantation. The number of patients waiting for a liver transplant is substantially higher than the number of transplantable donor livers, resulting in a long waiting time and a high waiting list mortality. An extracorporeal liver support system is one possible approach to overcome this problem. However, the ideal cell source for developing bioartificial liver (BAL) support systems has yet to be determined. Recent advancements in stem cell technology allow researchers to generate highly functional hepatocyte-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). In this mini-review, we summarize previous clinical trials with different BAL systems, and discuss advantages of and potential obstacles to utilizing hPSC-derived hepatic cells in clinical-scale BAL systems.
Core tip: The current lack of transplantable donor livers in the world has led to the development of extracorporeal liver support systems as one possible approach to overcome this problem. Bioartificial liver (BAL) support systems require a cell source to replicate human liver function, yet the ideal cell source for this purpose has yet to be determined. Highly-functional hepatocyte-like cells have recently been generated from human pluripotent stem cells, which show promise as a potential cell source in BAL support systems for the treatment of liver failure in the future.