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Postnatal Organogenesis by Transdifferentiation
Author(s) -
Willenbring Holger
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.240.3
Subject(s) - transdifferentiation , organogenesis , alagille syndrome , biology , liver regeneration , cholestasis , regeneration (biology) , stem cell niche , stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , progenitor cell , endocrinology , genetics , gene
Transdifferentiation is a physiological backup mechanism and alternative to stem‐cell‐mediated organ regeneration. In adult mammals, findings of transdifferentiation have been limited to replenishing lost cells in preexisting structures, i.e., in the presence of a fully developed scaffold and niche. Here we show that hepatocytes in the adult liver can transdifferentiate to build a structure that failed to form in development––the biliary system in mice that mimic the hepatic phenotype of human Alagille syndrome. The bile ducts forming the new biliary system are fully functional as evidenced by reversal of cholestasis, liver injury and liver fibrosis. Our results reveal the potential of mammalian transdifferentiation and may inform efforts to build organs containing a complex tubular system. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .