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Rodent cancer bioassays indicate that the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) agonist, 2, 3, 7, 8‐tetracholorodibenzo‐p‐dioxin (TCDD), causes increases in both hepatocytic and cholangiocytic tumors. Effects of AHR activation have been evaluated on rodent hepatic stem cells (rHpSCs) versus their descendants, hepatoblasts (rHBs), two lineage stages of multipotent, hepatic precursors with overlapping but also distinct phenotypic traits. This was made possible by defining the first successful culture conditions for ex vivo maintenance of rHpScs consisting of a substratum of hyaluronans and Kubota's medium (KM), a serum‐free medium designed for endodermal stem/progenitor cells. Supplementation of KM with leukemia inhibitory factor elicited lineage restriction to rHBs. Cultures were treated with various AHR agonists including TCDD, 6‐formylindolo‐[3, 2‐b] carbazole (FICZ), and 3‐3'‐diindolylmethane (DIM) and …