Liver regeneration after injury: Mechanisms, cellular interactions and therapeutic innovations

Authors:
Open Access
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The liver possesses a distinctive capacity for regeneration within the human body. Under normal circumstances, liver cells replicate themselves to maintain liver function. Compensatory replication of healthy hepatocytes is sufficient for the regeneration after acute liver injuries. In the late stage of chronic liver damage, a large number of hepatocytes die and hepatocyte replication is blocked. Liver regeneration has more complex mechanisms, such as the transdifferentiation between cell types or hepatic progenitor cells mediated. Dysregulation of liver regeneration causes severe chronic liver disease. Gaining a more comprehensive understanding of liver regeneration mechanisms would facilitate the advancement of efficient therapeutic approaches. This review provides an overview of the signalling pathways linked to different aspects of liver regeneration in various liver diseases. Moreover, new knowledge on cellular interactions during the regenerative process is also presented. Finally, this paper explores the potential applications of new technologies, such as nanotechnology, stem cell transplantation and organoids, in liver regeneration after injury, offering fresh perspectives on treating liver disease.
Funding Information
  • Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province (242300420070)
  • National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFC3400902)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (82073411)

This publication has 151 references indexed in Scilit: