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Regenerative biology

Maintaining liver mass

Nature volume 524, pages 165–166 (2015)Cite this article

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A previously under-appreciated subset of liver cells has been found to contribute to the day-to-day maintenance of liver mass in mice. The cells are induced and supported by signals from an adjacent vein. See Article p.180

The liver has remarkable regenerative powers. Many studies have focused on the ability of different types of cell to replenish both the liver and the bile ducts after damage1, but less clear is how the liver self-renews when cells die naturally. Such homeostatic renewal ensures that the liver maintains an appropriate mass, and so is crucial for health. On page 180 of this issue, Wang et al.2 shed light on this issue, focusing on an under-appreciated, self-renewing cell population in the undamaged livers of mice. It seems that liver cells themselves might function as 'stem cells' for homeostasis when they are positioned in a specialized zone of the liver.

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Figure 1: A contributor to everyday liver regeneration.

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  1. Kenneth S. Zaret is at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.,

    Kenneth S. Zaret

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  1. Kenneth S. Zaret
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Correspondence to Kenneth S. Zaret.

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Zaret, K. Maintaining liver mass. Nature 524, 165–166 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature15201

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