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TISSUE-SPECIFIC STEM CELLS

Identification and Characterization of Vitamin A-Storing Cells in Fetal Liver: Implications for Functional Importance of Hepatic Stellate Cells in Liver Development and Hematopoiesis

^aDepartments of Cell and Molecular Physiology,
^bDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, and
^cProgram in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

Key Words. Hepatopoiesis • Ito cells • Hepatoblasts • Colony-formation assay • Serum-free hormonally defined medium Leukemia inhibitory factor • Hemopoiesis • Stem cell niche

Correspondence: Hiroshi Kubota, D.V.M., Ph.D., Department of Animal Science, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, 35-1, Higashi-23, Towada, Aomori 034-8628, Japan. Telephone: +81-176-24-9376; Fax: +81-176-23-8703; e-mail: hiroshi{at}vmas.kitasato-u.ac.jp; or Lola M. Reid, Ph.D., Campus Box #7038, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7038, USA. Telephone: 919-966-0347; Fax: 919-966-6112; e-mail: lmreid{at}email.unc.edu

Received May 25, 2006; accepted for publication June 8, 2007.
First published online in STEM CELLS EXPRESS   June 21, 2007.



Hepatic stellate cells (HpSTCs) are major regulators of hepatic fibrogenesis in adults. However, their early development in fetal liver is largely unknown. To characterize fetal HpSTCs in the liver, in which hepatic development and hematopoiesis occur in parallel, we determined the phenotypic characteristics of HpSTCs from rat fetal livers, using a strategy focused on vitamin A. Storage of vitamin A in the cytoplasm is a unique characteristic of HpSTCs, permitting identification of them by vitamin A-specific autofluorescence (vA⁺) when excited with UV light using flow cytometry. A characteristic vA⁺ cell population was identified in liver as early as 13 days post coitum; it had a surface phenotype of RT1A^– intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1⁺ vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1⁺ ß3-integrin⁺. Although nonspecific autofluorescent cells were found with the antigenic profile of RT1A^– ICAM-1⁺ VCAM-1⁺, they were ß3-integrin^– and proved to be hepatoblasts, bipotent hepatic parenchymal progenitors. In addition to expression of classic HpSTC markers, the vA⁺ cells were able to proliferate continuously in a serum-free hormonally defined medium containing leukemia inhibitory factor, which was found to be a key factor for their replication. These results demonstrated that the vA⁺ cells are fetal HpSTCs with extensive proliferative activity. Furthermore, the vA⁺ cells strongly express hepatocyte growth factor, stromal-derived factor-1, and Hlx (homeobox transcription factor), indicating that they play important roles for hepatic development and hematopoiesis. The abilities to isolate and expand fetal HpSTCs enable further investigation into their roles in early liver development and facilitate identification of possibly novel signals of potential relevance for liver diseases.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.

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