Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40001892›Full record

ArticleBiology2025

Characterization and Proteomic Profiling of Hepatocyte-like Cells Derived from Human Wharton's Jelly Mesenchymal Stromal Cells: De Novo Expression of Liver-Specific Enzymes.

Melania Lo Iacono, Simona Corrao, Giusi Alberti, Giandomenico Amico, Francesca Timoneri, Eleonora Russo, Annamaria Cucina, Sergio Indelicato, Francesca Rappa, Tiziana Corsello and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

15 authors.

Melania Lo IaconoDepartment of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics (BiND), University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-9292-327X
Simona CorraoDepartment of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-0780-2984
Giusi AlbertiDepartment of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics (BiND), University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.
Giandomenico AmicoResearch Department, IRCCS ISMETT (Istituto Mediterraneo per i Trapianti e Terapie ad Alta Specializzazione), 90127 Palermo, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-6957-9861
Francesca TimoneriResearch Department, IRCCS ISMETT (Istituto Mediterraneo per i Trapianti e Terapie ad Alta Specializzazione), 90127 Palermo, Italy.
Eleonora RussoDepartmental Faculty of Medicine, Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences, 00131 Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-9048-1463
Annamaria CucinaDepartment of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE) University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.
Sergio IndelicatoDepartment of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE) University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.
Francesca RappaDepartment of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics (BiND), University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-6610-5268
Tiziana CorselloDepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Clinical and Experimental Immunology and Infectious Diseases (CEIID), University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77550, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4463-0050
Salvatore SaievaDepartment of Neurology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9586-6920
Antonino Di StefanoLaboratory of Cardio-Respiratory Apparatus Cytoimmunopathology, "S. Maugeri" Foundation, IRCCS, Medical Center of Veruno, 281010 Novara, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-3479-0875
Francesca Di GaudioDepartment of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE) University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-5910-5750
Pier Giulio ConaldiResearch Department, IRCCS ISMETT (Istituto Mediterraneo per i Trapianti e Terapie ad Alta Specializzazione), 90127 Palermo, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-1994-8005
Giampiero La RoccaDepartment of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics (BiND), University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy.

Funding

italian ministry of research and University 2017RSAK7_003
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

End-stage liver disease (ESLD), affecting millions worldwide, represents a challenging issue for clinical research and global public health. Liver transplantation is the gold standard therapeutic approach but shows some drawbacks. Hepatocyte transplantation could be a reliable alternative for patient treatment. Mesenchymal stromal cells derived from Wharton's jelly of the umbilical cord (WJ-MSCs) can differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) and show immunomodulatory functions. Due to the increasing demand for fully characterized cell therapy vehicles warranting both the safety and efficacy of treatments, in this work, we extensively characterized WJ-MSCs before and after the application of a hepatocyte-directed differentiation protocol. HLCs exhibited a morphology resembling that of hepatocytes, expressed early and late hepatic markers (α-fetoprotein, albumin, CK18, HNF4-α), and acquired hepatic functions (glycogen synthesis, xenobiotics detoxification), as also revealed by the shotgun proteomics approach. HLCs maintained the same pattern of immunomodulatory molecule expression and mesenchymal markers, other than displaying specific enzymes, suggesting these cells as promising candidates for cellular therapy of ESLD. Our work shed new light on the basic biology of HLCs, suggesting new therapeutic approaches to treat ESLD.

Indexed as

cell therapyhepatic failurehepatocyte differentiationhypoimmunogenicityimmune modulationliver diseasesperinatal stem cellsumbilical cordWharton’s jelly mesenchymal stromal cells

Identifiers

PMID40001892
PMCPMC11851833

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.