Mesenchymal stem cell therapy on murine model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

A severely malfunctioning liver, due to acute liver injury or chronic liver disease, can lead to hepatic failure. The ultimate treatment for hepatic failure is liver transplantation; however, the availability of donors is a critical issue. Therefore, regenerative therapy is an anticipated novel approach for restoring liver function. Mesenchymal stem cells are pluripotent somatic cells that can differentiate into several cell types, including hepatocytes. Moreover, they are obtainable from easily accessible autologous adipose tissue, making them ideal for regenerative therapy. This chapter describes experimental methods for isolating mesenchymal stem cells from murine adipose tissues and expanding them, and also describes murine chronic liver disease, steatohepatitis, for the study of experimental regenerative treatments of chronic liver disease. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC