The liver is unique among organs in its ability to regenerate after
being damaged. Exactly how it repairs itself remained a mystery until
recently, when researchers supported by the National Institutes of
Health discovered a type of cell in mice essential to the process. The
researchers also found similar cells in humans.
When healthy liver cells are depleted by long-term
exposure to toxic chemicals, the newly discovered cells, known as
hybrid hepatocytes, generate new tissue more efficiently than normal
liver cells. Importantly, they divide and grow without causing cancer,
which tends to be a risk with rapid cell division.
“This is the first time anyone has shown how liver cells
safely regenerate,” said William Suk, Ph.D., director of the Superfund
Research Program at the National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS), part of NIH.
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