Massimo Riccio, Gianluca Carnevale, Vincenzo Cardinale, Lara Gibellini, Sara De Biasi, Alessandra Pisciotta, Guido Carpino, Raffaele Gentile, Pasquale B Berloco, Roberto Brunelli, Carlo Bastianelli, Chiara Napoletano, Alfredo Cantafora, Andrea Cossarizza, Eugenio Gaudio, Domenico Alvaro, Anto De Pol
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Human biliary tree stem/progenitor cells (hBTSCs) are multipotent epithelial stem cells, easily obtained from the biliary tree, with the potential for regenerative medicine in liver, biliary tree, and pancreas diseases. Recent reports indicate that human mesenchymal stem cells are able to modulate the T cell immune response. However, no information exists on the capabilities of hBTSCs to control the allogeneic response. The aims of this study were to evaluate FasL expression in hBTSCs, to study the in vitro interaction between hBTSCs and human lymphocytes, and the role of Fas/FasL modulation in inducing T cell apoptosis in hBTSCs/T cell co-cultures...
November 2014: Journal of Hepatology