Characterization of Urine-Derived Stem Cells from Patients with End-Stage Liver Diseases and Application to Induced Acute and Chronic Liver Injury of Nude Mice Model

Urine-derived stem cells (USCs) are adult stem cells isolated from urine with strong proliferative ability and differentiation potentials. Cell transplantation of USCs could partly repair liver injury. It has been reported that the proliferative ability of bone mesenchymal stem cells in patients with chronic liver failure is significantly lower than in patients without liver disease. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the biological characteristics of USCs from end-stage liver disease patients (LD-USCs, USCs from patients with liver disease) compared with those from normal healthy individuals (N-USCs, USCs from normal individuals), with a view to determining whether autologous USCs can be applied to the treatment of liver disease. In this study USCs were isolated from urine samples of male patients with end-stage liver disease. Adherent USCs exhibit a spindle- or rice grain-like morphology, and express CD24, CD29, CD73, CD90, and CD146 surface markers, but not CD31, CD34, CD45, and CD105. We observed no differences in cell morphology or cell surface marker profile between LD-USCs and N-USCs. LD-USCs exhibited similar proliferative, colony-forming, apoptotic, and migratory abilities to N-USCs. Both USCs demonstrated similar capacities for osteogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation. When USCs were transplanted into CCl4 treatment-induced acute and chronic liver fibrosis mouse models, we observed a decrease in liver index, recovery of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels, alleviation of liver tissue injury, and dramatic improvement of liver tissue structure. USC transplantation can effectively recover liver function and improve liver tissue damage in acute or chronic liver injury mouse models. According to the results, we concluded that the biological characteristics of LD-USCs are not affected by basic liver disease. This study provides further evidence of the stem cell characteristics and liver repair function of LD-USCs, which may serve as a theoretical and experimental foundation for autologous USC transplantation technology in the treatment of liver failure and end-stage liver diseases.