Oval Cell Marker Products

Facultative liver stem cell activation was originally described in the rat, where chemical damage and partial hepatectomy caused the emergence of a new cell type, the oval cell. These cells are thought to be bipotential progenitors capable of yielding both hepatocytes and bile ducts (1). To properly determine the molecular regulation of the progenitor process, appropriate markers are needed to identify and isolate cells that emerge during the oval cell response.