About this Research Topic
Cell therapy has been developed over the past century, yet so far, the only effective treatment for end-stage liver diseases is orthotropic liver transplantation. The abundant regenerative capacity of the liver has raised huge interest in developing cell therapy strategies to overcome the organ shortage and immune rejection issue with liver transplantation. On the other hand, continuous exposure to the pathogenic factors results in liver failure and liver cancer. The emerging regenerative medicine strategies, such as gene therapy, cell therapy, and tissue engineering, provide cutting-edge directions for treating liver diseases.
To date, numerous cell types were applied as candidates in treating liver failure at basic research, pre-clinical and clinical phases. Due to the limited proliferating capacity and immunogenicity of adult hepatocytes, transplantations of hepatocytes only brought a limited therapeutic effect. Alternatively, mesenchymal stem cells, with a wide range of tissue sources and a well-established in vitro expansion system, have been the most used cells in the clinic for treating patients with end-stage liver diseases. Yet, failing to give raise to functional hepatocytes, mesenchymal stem cells transplantation also only provides short-term improvement of the liver function by paracrine secretion. Through this Research Topic, we are aiming to tackle issues that remain for cell therapy and liver regeneration, and other end-stage diseases, including the source of functional cells, the assembling of mini-organs or organoids, the markers for therapeutic evaluation, the translating findings from basic research to clinical practices. The ultimate goal of this Research Topic is also the hope of providing the path for the translational application of cell therapy of other end-stage diseases.
The current Research Topic aims to cover recent, novel, basic, and translational research. Both original research articles and review articles are welcome. Preferred subtopics include but are not limited to:
· Cellular mechanism for liver natural turnovers and injury repair
· Gastroenterology histology and pathology
· Diseases models (animal model, PDX/POX model/organoids, cell models, etc.)
· Development and regulation of stem cell product
· Cell tracking and in vivo imaging
· Biomaterials, tissue engineering, and artificial livers
· Liver cancer initiation, development, and potential treatments
· Cell senescence, gene therapy, and liver cancers
To date, numerous cell types were applied as candidates in treating liver failure at basic research, pre-clinical and clinical phases. Due to the limited proliferating capacity and immunogenicity of adult hepatocytes, transplantations of hepatocytes only brought a limited therapeutic effect. Alternatively, mesenchymal stem cells, with a wide range of tissue sources and a well-established in vitro expansion system, have been the most used cells in the clinic for treating patients with end-stage liver diseases. Yet, failing to give raise to functional hepatocytes, mesenchymal stem cells transplantation also only provides short-term improvement of the liver function by paracrine secretion. Through this Research Topic, we are aiming to tackle issues that remain for cell therapy and liver regeneration, and other end-stage diseases, including the source of functional cells, the assembling of mini-organs or organoids, the markers for therapeutic evaluation, the translating findings from basic research to clinical practices. The ultimate goal of this Research Topic is also the hope of providing the path for the translational application of cell therapy of other end-stage diseases.
The current Research Topic aims to cover recent, novel, basic, and translational research. Both original research articles and review articles are welcome. Preferred subtopics include but are not limited to:
· Cellular mechanism for liver natural turnovers and injury repair
· Gastroenterology histology and pathology
· Diseases models (animal model, PDX/POX model/organoids, cell models, etc.)
· Development and regulation of stem cell product
· Cell tracking and in vivo imaging
· Biomaterials, tissue engineering, and artificial livers
· Liver cancer initiation, development, and potential treatments
· Cell senescence, gene therapy, and liver cancers
Keywords: liver failure, cell therapy, gastroenterology pathology, clinical trials, animal models
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
