October 25, 2019
Tokyo Medical University
Keio University
A research team led by Professor Takahiro Ochiya and Researcher Takeshi Katsuda (currently at the University of Pennsylvania, USA) of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo Medical University, in collaboration with Part-time Lecturer Juntaro Matsuzaki of the Department of Internal Medicine (Gastroenterology), Keio University School of Medicine (currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, USA), Tomoko Yamaguchi (Master's Program, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences) of the Division of Pharmacotherapeutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Keio University, and Associate Professor Yoshimasa Saito of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Keio University, has successfully reprogrammed mature human hepatocytes into stably proliferative progenitor cells using small molecule compounds. The findings were published in the journal *eLife* on August 22, 2019. This is a significant research achievement that directly contributes to the development of new therapies to save people suffering from severe liver diseases.
Please see below for the full press release.