The liver’s reserve

Hepatic stem cells

The liver is the one internal organ that regrows. Hepatic stem cells are its reserve population, held back for when ordinary repair is not enough.

Hepatic stem cells: how it works A hepatic stem cell giving rise to the liver’s two epithelial cell types. Hepatic stem cell
Hepatocyte
Bile duct cell
Liver tissue
A hepatic stem cell giving rise to the liver’s two epithelial cell types. Schematic. Not a photograph, and not a depiction of a RediCell process.

What it is

Most of the liver by mass is hepatocytes — the cells that carry out its chemistry. Hepatic stem cells are a much rarer population, found near the small bile ducts, capable of producing both hepatocytes and the cells that line those ducts.

They are sometimes called oval cells, after their appearance.

What it does in the body

The liver’s usual repair mechanism does not involve stem cells at all: mature hepatocytes simply divide. That alone is enough to restore a large fraction of lost liver mass, which is why living donor transplantation is possible.

The stem cell reserve is the second line. When hepatocytes are prevented from dividing — by sustained injury, for instance — this population activates, multiplies, and produces replacements.

The cells they produce carry out the liver’s work: filtering the blood arriving from the gut, breaking down drugs and toxins, manufacturing blood proteins and clotting factors, storing and releasing glucose, and making the bile that digests fat.

Where RediCell’s come from

Differentiated from umbilical cord tissue, at or below passage two.

What RediCell supplies from this line

Listed for reference only. Cell counts, particle counts and fill volumes are the specification; pricing is not published here and ordering is restricted to verified practitioners and institutions.

Preparations RediCell supplies from the Hepatic stem cells line
CodePreparationSpecification
RC-HLSCs-10Hepatic Stem Cells10M cells / 2 ml vial
RC-EX-Lr1Hepatic Exosome Matrix w/ growth factors110B+ exosomes / 1 ml vial

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