Liver transplants studied in older people

German scientists say they have determined the reason transplanted liver cells don’t proliferate as well in older recipients as they do in younger ones.

Researchers at Germany’s Martin Luther University said they determined that while the age of the donor makes no difference, the age of the recipient is significantly important — and many humans requiring liver transplantation are older.

The German study conducted in rats found that older rats had a repopulation rate of only 2 percent, 10 times less than that seen in younger ones. Furthermore, the researchers found transplanted cells worked equally well in the old and young animals, as measured by glycogen storage, but the younger animals had significantly higher levels of a growth factor needed for proliferation.

Peggy Stock, a post doctoral fellow, said the new study is the first to offer a possible mechanism for the failure of transplanted hepatocytes to proliferate in many human patients and it is also the first to suggest a way to compensate for the problem.

Stock reported the study Sunday in New Orleans during Experimental Biology 2009.