Use of mesenchymal stem cells to treat liver fibrosis: Current situation and future prospects

Table 2 In vivo studies using mesenchymal stem cells to treat liver fibrosis

Species	Fibrosis induction	Administration route	MSC source	Number of cells injected/ animal	Results	Anti-fibrotic mechanisms proposed	Ref.
Rats	CCl4 IP	Tail vein	Human umbilical cord blood	1 × 106	Liver fibrosis alleviated 4 wk post-infusion Improvement of liver function	Differentiation into hepatocyte-like cells	[127]
Rats	CCl4 IP	Portal vein	Rat adipose tissue	2 × 106	Improvement of liver functional tests, histological findings and microcirculation 6 wk post-infusion	Not mentioned	[128]
Mice	CCl4 IP	Intrahepatic	Murine bone marrow	1 × 106	Reduced fibrosis and apoptosis 30 d post-infusion Improvement of liver function	Not mentioned	[129]
Mice	CCl4 IP	Tail vein	Murine bone marrow	1 × 106	Thinner fibrotic areas and decreased collagen depositions 4 wk post-infusion Improvement of liver function	Promotion of hepatocyte proliferation and modulation of inflammation	[130]
Rats	CCl4 SC	Portal vein	Human bone marrow	1 × 106	Reduced fibrosis 4 wk post-infusion Improvement of liver function	Differentiation into hepatocyte-like cells expression of MMPs by MSCs	[131]
Mice	CCl4 IP	Tail vein	Murine bone marrow	1 × 106	Decrease in liver fibrosis 4 wk after transplantation	Increased expression of MMPs	[132]
Rats	CCl4 SC/DMN IP	Intraveinous	Rat bone marrow	3 × 106	Decrease in collagen deposition and of α-SMA expression Improvement of liver function	Not mentioned	[133]
Rats	CCl4 SC	Tail vein	Rat bone marrow	3 × 106	Decrease in collagen deposition Elevation of serum albumin	Not mentioned	[134]
Mice	CCl4 IP	Tail vein	Human bone marrow	5 × 105	Reduction in fibrosis 4 wk after cell infusion	Enhanced expression of MMP-9 and decreased expression of α-SMA, TNFα and TGFβ	[135]

MSC: Mesenchymal stem cell; DMN: Dimethylnitrosamine; MMP: Matrix metalloproteinase; α-SMA: Alpha-smooth muscle actin; TNFα: Tumour necrosis factor-α; TGFβ: Transforming growth factor beta.