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Converting Bone Marrow
Stem Cells into Liver Cells
Purified bone marrow stem cells from a male
mouse are grown near injured liver from a female
mouse, but separated by a fine filter.
After 8 hours, some cells are making liver proteins,
marked with green. And after 48 hours, more are
differentiating into liver cells.
Green and red show liver-specific proteins.
So bone marrow stem cells can develop into liver
like cells in a dish—what about in a live animal?
100,000 purified bone marrow stem cells from a
male mouse are transplanted into a female mouse
with a injured liver.
Several weeks later, the liver from the female
recipient mouse is examined for the presence of
male liver cells—cells containing a X and Y
chromosomes.
X chromosomes are pink and Y chromosomes are
green. The two arrows point to male cells in this
female mouse liver.
For more details, please see:
Hematopoietic stem cells convert into liver cells within days
without fusion.
Jang YY, Collector MI, Baylin SB, Diehl AM, Sharkis SJ.
Nat Cell Biol. 2004 Jun;6(6):532-9.