A highly enriched fetal liver stem/progenitor cell population containing all the repopulation potential for the normal adult rat liver

Stem cell transplantation is a promising alternative to whole liver transplantation. However, identification and characterization of true liver stem cells has been problematic, because there are no known specific markers. Previously, we reported long-term liver replacement of normal adult rat liver after transplanting unfractionated embryonic day (ED)14 fetal liver stem/progenitor cells (FLSPC). However, hematopoietic stem cells, a major component in unfractionated fetal liver cell preparations, engraft in other organs and may cause undesirable side effects or complications. Therefore, for most clinical applicat…