Cell-based therapies for acute liver failure: human tissue engineering, pure cell implantation and stem cell application

Improving the survival rate and quality of life of patients with acute and chronic hepatic dysfunction still represents a challenge. Cell-based therapeutic hepatocyte transplantation has great potential to serve as a temporary support and “bridge” prior to a donor organ becoming available, or even as therapy for replacing a compromised liver. In this review we describe potential applications of human tissue engineering, compare therapeutic effects of transplanted hepatocytes, with or without tissue engineering and highlight the exciting progress of stem cell transplantation in hepatic dysfunction. Hepatocytes can be transplanted in the form of pure cells or as cells engineered with devices (with or without pretreatment with growth factors), freshly isolated or preserved cells or adult matured or stem cells. The efficacy of different forms of cell-based therapy may be associated with the severity and duration of the disease and with the therapeutic strategy used to treat it