1. Converting Bone Marrow Stem Cells into Liver Cells

2. Purified bone marrow stem cells from a male mouse are grown near injured liver from a female mouse, but separated by a fine filter.

3. After 8 hours, some cells are making liver proteins, marked with green. And after 48 hours, more are differentiating into liver cells. Green and red show liver-specific proteins.

4. So bone marrow stem cells can develop into liver like cells in a dish—what about in a live animal? 100,000 purified bone marrow stem cells from a male mouse are transplanted into a female mouse with a injured liver.

5. Several weeks later, the liver from the female recipient mouse is examined for the presence of male liver cells—cells containing a X and Y chromosomes. X chromosomes are pink and Y chromosomes are green. The two arrows point to male cells in this female mouse liver.

6. For more details, please see: Hematopoietic stem cells convert into liver cells within days without fusion. Jang YY, Collector MI, Baylin SB, Diehl AM, Sharkis SJ. Nat Cell Biol. 2004 Jun;6(6):532-9.