Liver stem cells and prospects for liver reconstitution by transplanted cells
David A. Shafritz, Michael Oertel, Anuradha Menthena, Dirk Nierhoff, Mariana D. Dabeva – 30 January 2006 – Although it was proposed almost 60 years ago that the adult mammalian liver contains hepatic stem cells, this issue remains controversial. Part of the problem is that no specific marker gene unique to the adult hepatic stem cell has yet been identified, and regeneration of the liver after acute injury is achieved through proliferation of adult hepatocytes and does not require activation or proliferation of stem cells.