Cell transplantation in the treatment of liver diseases.

The liver performs multiple functions that are essential for life, the most crucial being its role in the body metabolism. Impairment of this function, because of liver insufficiency, can be partially restored by medical management but OLT remains the ultimate therapeutic treatment. Because not always indicated or available, other alternatives are proposed such as LCT. Compared to OLT, this procedure is less invasive, less expensive, and fully reversible. More than 50 patients have thus far benefited of this technique and are reviewed here. Indications were multiple including inborn errors of metabolism, FHF, acute on chronic diseases, and decompensated end-stage cirrhosis. Documented results were encouraging, especially for metabolic disorders, with medium-term efficacy up to two yr. Related complications were exceptional. On this basis, LCT has entered its phase of clinical application and current indications and protocols are detailed. Ongoing lines of research are discussed, including cell quality, stem cell field, and rejection prevention. Further improvement of the procedure is therefore expected and should lead to broader applications of LCT.