Zahra Nikoozad - School of Biology, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran
Mohammad Taghi Ghorbanian - School of Biology, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran ۲ Institute of Biological Sciences, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran
Arezou Rezaei - School of Biology, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran ۲ Institute of Biological Sciences, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran

Objective(s): Stem cell therapy is believed to be as a promising treatment strategy for tissue repair and regeneration. The plasticity specification of the adult stem cells, such as MSCs, has enabled that these cells to be used in the treatment of a broad spectrum of diseases like liver disorders. In this study, the production of urea and Albumin (Alb), glycogen storage, and expression of some liver genes including α -fetoprotein (AFP), Alb, cytokeratin۱۸ (CK۱۸) and cytokeratin۱۹ (CK۱۹) was compared between mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and isolated rat hepatocytes.  Materials and Methods: The MSCs were isolated from rat femurs and tibias and cultured in α -MEM, DMEM and RPMI mediums supplemented with serum. Hepatocytes were isolated from Rat livers and cultured in DMEM with serum. The expression of AFP, Alb, CK۱۸, and CK۱۹ genes was evaluated using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Furthermore, the synthesis of albumin and urea of the cells was measured  Results:  In vitro conditions, MSCs and hepatocytes exhibited the characteristic functions of the liver such as capacity to synthesize Alb, urea, the storage of glycogen. In this study, the expression of some liver genes such as AFP, Alb, CK۱۸ and CK۱۹ at mRNA levels was also shown.    

Albumin, Glycogen, Hepatocytes, Liver genes, Mesenchymal stem cells