©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 21, 2015; 21(3): 742-758
Published online Jan 21, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i3.742
Published online Jan 21, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i3.742
Use of mesenchymal stem cells to treat liver fibrosis: Current situation and future prospects
Silvia Berardis, Prenali Dwisthi Sattwika, Mustapha Najimi, Etienne Marc Sokal, Laboratory of Pediatric Hepatology and Cell Therapy, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Cliniques Universitaires St Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
Author contributions: Berardis S, Dwisthi Sattwika P, Najimi M and Sokal EM wrote the paper.
Correspondence to: Silvia Berardis, MD, Laboratory of Pediatric Hepatology and Cell Therapy, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Cliniques Universitaires St Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Avenue Hippocrate 10, 1200 Brussels, Belgium. silvia.berardis@uclouvain.be
Telephone: +32-2-7645285 Fax: +32-2-7648909
Received: July 29, 2014
Peer-review started: July 31, 2014
First decision: August 15, 2014
Revised: September 5, 2014
Accepted: November 18, 2014
Article in press: November 19, 2014
Published online: January 21, 2015
Processing time: 174 Days and 23.7 Hours
Peer-review started: July 31, 2014
First decision: August 15, 2014
Revised: September 5, 2014
Accepted: November 18, 2014
Article in press: November 19, 2014
Published online: January 21, 2015
Processing time: 174 Days and 23.7 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Liver fibrosis is a major public health issue for which no treatment is available. Cell therapy and, in particular, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), represent a promising strategy, based mainly on their immunomodulatory properties and differentiation capacity. In the current review, we discuss the rationale to propose cell therapy and, in particular, MSCs to treat liver fibrosis, overview of the current knowledge in this field and highlight future prospects.