Liver engrafting cells, assays, and uses thereof

Patent Number: 7,211,404

Hepatic diseases are a major scourge on our society. Currently great progress has been made through the use of autologous bone marrow stem cells for treatment of these diseases.

In the current patent, a cell that is capable of engrafting in the liver is disclosed. the cell is of hepatic origin and is positive for 5E12 and/or Ep-Cam and/or CD49f and/or E-Cadherin and/or lacking or haveing low MHC 1 expression. The cell may also be negative for CD117 and CD14.

Since these cells have to be taken from the liver, either allogeneic cells will have to be therapeutically used, which calls for immune suppression/modulation, or alternatively expensive ex vivo expansion techniques will have to be developed to use this patent. We still think autologous bone marrow is better.

View this patent on the USPTO website.