Polarisation and functional characterisation of hepatocytes derived from human embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells.

Adult hepatocytes are polarised with their apical and basolateral membranes separated from neighbouring cells by tight junction proteins. Although efficient differentiation of pluripotent stem cells to hepatocytes has been achieved, the formation of proper polarisation in these cells has not been thoroughly investigated. In the present study, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were differentiated to hepatocyte-like cells and the derived hepatocytes were characterised for mature hepatocyte markers. The secretion of hepatic proteins, expression of hepatic genes and the functional hepatic polarisation of stem cell-derived hepatocytes, foetal hepatocytes and the HepG2 hepatic cell line were evaluated and the different lines were compared. The results indicate that hESC-derived hepatocytes are phenotypically more robust and functionally more efficient compared with the hMSC-derived hepatocytes, suggesting their suitability for toxicity studies.