Russian scientists discover a way to restore fibrotic liver tissue

Liver fibrosis develops as a result of chronic liver damage, in which healthy tissue is gradually replaced by connective tissue. As the disease progresses, liver function deteriorates, while severe fibrosis can eventually lead to cirrhosis and liver failure, the researchers noted.

In experiments on laboratory mice, the scientists induced liver fibrosis and then injected the animals with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) obtained from two sources: adipose tissue and bone marrow. The condition of the liver was assessed after 14, 30, 90 and 270 days.

The results showed significant improvements. However, nine months after the experiments began, a marked improvement in liver tissue health was observed particularly among animals treated with cells derived from adipose tissue. In this group of mice, researchers observed differences in the amount of connective tissue as well as in indicators of cell division in the liver.

The researchers believe the findings suggest that adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells may have greater potential for promoting long-term regeneration of liver cells.

However, they emphasized that the approach remains experimental and cannot currently be used to treat liver fibrosis in humans.