CELLULAR COMPOSITION AND REGULATORY FUNCTIONS OF FETAL LIVER STROMA
O.V. Payushina,1 E.I. Domaratskaya, V.I. Starostin
Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology RAS, Moscow;
1 e-mail: payushina@mail.ru
Hematopoietic differentiation and formation of hepatic tissue both take place in mammalian liver during its prenatal development. Hematopoietic and hepatic stem cells
self-renew, proliferate and differentiate within specific microenvironment that is organized by stromal elements. Stroma of developing liver consists of different cell populations
such as mesenchymal stromal cells, Ito cells, portal fibroblasts and myofibroblasts, vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells, cells undergoing epithelial-to-mesenchymal
transition. In this review, their phenotypical and functional properties, possible derivation and role in the regulation of hematopoiesis and hepatogenesis are discussed.
Key words: fetal liver, hematopoiesis, hepatogenesis, stem cells, stroma, microenvironment
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