Researchers from the University of Illinois have identified a key process coordinating liver maturation and polyploidization, a state in which cells carry more than two sets of chromosomes. Their findings, published in Genes and Development, provide insight into hepatocyte specialization that will aid efforts in regenerative medicine.

The human liver performs over 150 specialized functions, including filtering blood, removing waste, regulating blood sugar, and digesting fats. Hepatocytes — the main cell type of the liver — are fully formed by birth but remain dormant for the first few weeks of life. During this time, they gradually mature and develop specialized attributes. For decades, biologists have wondered how liver cells mature after birth and achieve their dedicated functions. Further, how can scientists use this knowledge to improve regeneration of the liver, the only internal organ that can regenerate or repair itself after injury?

“Over the past 15 - 20 years, biologists have gotten good at isolating stem cells,” said Nash Kalsotra, a professor of biochemistry and the lead author of the paper. “We can differentiate the stem cells into various cell types, which has lots of promise in regenerative biology. And we can provide these cells to damaged organs, but they function poorly because they are stuck in an immature fetal-like state. So, the question is: ‘How do we take these rudimentary cells and help them mature?’ That’s the next frontier in biology we need to cross,” said Kalsotra, who is also a Chan Zuckerburg Biohub Chicago Investigator and a faculty member at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, the Cancer Center at Illinois, and the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Illinois.

Read more from the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology.