Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42868135›Full record

ArticlePloS one2026

Integration of transplanted chemically induced liver progenitor cells into recipient bile ducts in a rat bile duct transection model.

Peilin Li, Akihiko Soyama, Daisuke Miyamoto, Takanobu Hara, Hajime Matsushima, Ayaka Kinoshita, Kazushige Migita, Ayaka Satoh, Takashi Hamada, Hajime Imamura and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Peilin LiDepartment of Surgery, Division of Digestive Surgery and Transplantology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9136-0882
Akihiko SoyamaDepartment of Surgery, Division of Digestive Surgery and Transplantology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2932-4300
Daisuke MiyamotoDepartment of Surgery, Division of Digestive Surgery and Transplantology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
Takanobu HaraDepartment of Surgery, Division of Digestive Surgery and Transplantology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3078-725X
Hajime MatsushimaDepartment of Surgery, Division of Digestive Surgery and Transplantology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
Ayaka KinoshitaDepartment of Surgery, Division of Digestive Surgery and Transplantology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
Kazushige MigitaDepartment of Surgery, Division of Digestive Surgery and Transplantology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
Ayaka SatohDepartment of Surgery, Division of Digestive Surgery and Transplantology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
Takashi HamadaDepartment of Surgery, Division of Digestive Surgery and Transplantology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
Hajime ImamuraDepartment of Surgery, Division of Digestive Surgery and Transplantology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
Luyang LiDepartment of Surgery, Division of Digestive Surgery and Transplantology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
Tomohiko AdachiDepartment of Surgery, Division of Digestive Surgery and Transplantology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
Weili GuDepartment of Surgery, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Susumu EguchiDepartment of Surgery, Division of Digestive Surgery and Transplantology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChemically induced liver progenitor cells (CLiPs) generated from mature hepatocytes are bipotent and represent a promising source for biliary repair. However, their therapeutic potential in cholangiopathy models remains unclear. In this study, we investigated rat CLiPs using a rat bile duct transection (BDT) model.

methodsRat CLiPs were induced using the Y-27632/A-83-01/CHIR99021 regimen, resulting in loss of the hepatocyte marker ALB and gain of the progenitor markers CD90 and EpCAM. GFP-labeled CLiPs (1 × 10^7) were transplanted into Sprague-Dawley rats following BDT via portal vein infusion. On postoperative days (POD) 3 and 7, engraftment, proliferation, differentiation, and injury indices were assessed using immunofluorescence, quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and serum biochemistry.

resultsCLiPs engrafted and survived until POD 7 after portal vein infusion, and proliferative activity was observed by Ki-67 staining. Immunofluorescence revealed GFP + /ALB+ hepatocyte-like cells and GFP + /CK7 + cholangiocyte-like cells integrating near native ducts, indicating bipotential differentiation. qRT-PCR showed that BDT-induced expression of progenitor/ductular markers (Sox9, Epcam, Krt7, and Krt19) was attenuated in CLiP-treated groups compared to untreated BDT rats, although levels remained above those in sham rats. Serum AST, ALT, and ALP levels tended to decrease, and albumin levels increased after CLiP transplantation.

conclusionsCLiPs survived and acquired hepatocyte-like and cholangiocyte-like phenotypes during the early phase after portal vein transplantation in a rat BDT model. These findings support the feasibility of CLiP-based hepatobiliary regenerative therapy, although longer-term and functional studies are required to confirm durable biliary repair.

Indexed as

Bile DuctsLiverStem CellsStem Cell TransplantationAnimalsCell DifferentiationCell ProliferationHepatocytesMaleRatsRats, Sprague-Dawley

Identifiers

PMID42868135
PMCPMC13660909

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.