Human Liver Cells Expressing Albumin and Mesenchymal Characteristics Give Rise to Insulin-Producing Cells

Figure 1

Proliferating adult human liver cells in culture undergo hepatic dedifferentiation associated with EMT marker expression. (a) Growth curve of adult human liver cells supplemented with exendin-4 (5 nM) [11]. (b) Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of hepatic (albumin, ADH1b, GLUL, SMAT5, and AFP), endodermal (GATA4) and (c) EMT (E-CAD, N-CAD, Snail, and Slug) markers in primary cultures of adult human liver cells (𝑛=4, P2–4) compared to intact adult human liver tissue (𝑛=4). The results are normalized to β-actin expression within the same cDNA sample and presented as the relative levels of the mean ± standard deviation of primary cultures versus liver tissue. *𝑃<0.01.

(a)

(b)

(c)