Treating Liver Fibrosis: (Re)Programmed to Succeed Yuan Guan, Dan Xu, Gary Peltz  Cell Stem Cell  Volume 18, Issue 6, Pages 683-684 (June 2016) DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2016.05.007 Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. Terms and Conditions

Figure 1 The In Vivo Reprogramming Methods Used to Convert Myofibroblasts in Mouse Liver into Induced Hepatocytes, or iHeps Rezvani et al. use an adeno-associated viral vector (AAV6) to express six murine transcription factors in myofibroblasts (AAV-6TF), while Song et al. use an adenovirus (AdV) to express four human transcription factors in myofibroblasts (AdV-4TF). After delivery of these polycystronic viruses to mouse liver, the expression of these transcription factors directly converts myofibroblasts into iHeps. Since hepatic myofibroblasts become activated in response to liver injury and synthesize collagen, they are a major contributor to the pathogenesis of fibrotic liver disease. Although only a relatively small number of myofibroblasts were reprogrammed (iHeps were ∼1% or less of the total hepatocyte number), their reprograming had a major effect. Both reprogramming methods were shown to reduce the extent of liver injury and fibrosis that developed in several murine models of fibrotic and cholestatic liver diseases. Cell Stem Cell 2016 18, 683-684DOI: (10.1016/j.stem.2016.05.007) Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. Terms and Conditions