Highlights
- •Hepatocytes engrafted in the kidney created an organ-sized and complex liver.
- •At least three types of liver-specific NPCs were recruited in the neo-liver.
- •Recruited NPCs originated from the host tissues including bone marrow.
- •The neo-liver in the kidney exhibited liver-specific functions and architectures.
Background & Aims
Since the first account of the myth of Prometheus, the amazing regenerative capacity
of the liver has fascinated researchers because of its enormous medical potential.
Liver regeneration is promoted by multiple types of liver cells, including hepatocytes
and liver non-parenchymal cells (NPCs), through complex intercellular signaling. However,
the mechanism of liver organogenesis, especially the role of adult hepatocytes at
ectopic sites, remains unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that hepatocytes alone
spurred liver organogenesis to form an organ-sized complex 3D liver that exhibited
native liver architecture and functions in the kidneys of mice.
Methods
Isolated hepatocytes were transplanted under the kidney capsule of monocrotaline (MCT)
and partial hepatectomy (PHx)-treated mice. To determine the origin of NPCs in neo-livers,
hepatocytes were transplanted into MCT/PHx-treated green fluorescent protein transgenic
mice or wild-type mice transplanted with bone marrow cells isolated from green fluorescent
protein-mice.
Results
Hepatocytes engrafted at the subrenal space of mice underwent continuous growth in
response to a chronic hepatic injury in the native liver. More than 1.5 years later,
whole organ-sized liver tissues with greater mass than those of the injured native
liver had formed. Most remarkably, we revealed that at least three types of NPCs with
similar phenotypic features to the liver NPCs were recruited from the host tissues
including bone marrow. The neo-livers in the kidney exhibited liver-specific functions
and architectures, including sinusoidal vascular systems, zonal heterogeneity, and
emergence of bile duct cells. Furthermore, the neo-livers successfully rescued the
mice with lethal liver injury.
Conclusion
Our data clearly show that adult hepatocytes play a leading role as organizer cells
in liver organogenesis at ectopic sites via NPC recruitment.
Lay summary
The role of adult hepatocytes at ectopic locations has not been clarified. In this
study, we demonstrated that engrafted hepatocytes in the kidney proliferated, recruited
non-parenchymal cells from host tissues including bone marrow, and finally created
an organ-sized, complex liver system that exhibited liver-specific architectures and
functions. Our results revealed previously undescribed functions of hepatocytes to
direct liver organogenesis through non-parenchymal cell recruitment and organize multiple
cell types into a complex 3D liver at ectopic sites.
Transcript profiling: Microarray data are deposited in GEO (GEO accession: GSE99141).
Graphical abstract
Graphical Abstract
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 26, 2017
Accepted:
December 19,
2017
Received in revised form:
December 18,
2017
Received:
June 15,
2017
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
