Evidence from human histopathology and experimental studies with rodents and zebrafish has shown that hepatocytes and cholangiocytes may function as facultative stem cells for each other in conditions of impaired regeneration. The interpretation of the findings derived from these studies has generated considerable discussion and some controversies. This review examines the evidence obtained from the different experimental models and considers implications that these studies may have for human liver disease.
Keywords: Cholangiocytes; Hepatocytes; Liver Progenitor Cell; Liver-Specific Tissue Stem Cells; Transdifferentiation.
Copyright © 2015 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.