Bone Marrow Cells Ameliorate Liver Fibrosis and Express Albumin after Transplantation in CCl(4) -Induced Fibrotic Liver

BACKGROUND/AIM: We investigated the effect of bone marrow-derived stem cell (BMSC) transplantation on carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced liver fibrosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: BMSCs of green fluorescent protein (GFP) mice were transplanted into 4-week CCl(4) -treated C57BL/6 mice directly to the liver, and the mice were treated for 4 more weeks with CCl(4) (total, 8 weeks). After sacrificing the animals, quantitative data of percentage fibrosis area and the number of cells expressing albumin was obtained. One-way analysis of variance was applied to calculate the significance of the data. RESULTS: GFP expressing cells clearly indicated migrated BMSCs with strong expression of albumin after 28 days post-transplantation shown by anti-albumin antibody. Double fluorescent immunohistochemistry showed reduced expression of αSMA on GFP-positive cells. Four weeks after BMSC transplantation, mice had significantly reduced liver fibrosis as compared with that of mice treated with CCl(4) assessed by Sirius red staining. CONCLUSION: Mice with BMSC transplantation with continuous CCl(4) injection had reduced liver fibrosis and a significantly improved expression of albumin compared with mice treated with CCl(4) alone. These findings strengthen the concept of cellular therapy in liver fibrosis.