Schisandrin B promotes hepatic differentiation from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs)-derived hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) have shown great promise in the treatment of liver diseases. However, most current induction protocols yield hepatocyte-like cells with limited function as compared with primary hepatocytes. Schisandrin B (Sch B) is one of the main components of Schisandra chinensis, which can prevent fibrosis progression and promote liver cell regeneration. Herein, we investigated the effects of Sch B on hepatic differentiation of UC-MSCs. We found that treatment with 10 μM Sch B from the second stage of the differentiation process increased hepatic marker levels and hepatic function. Additionally, RNA-seq analysis revealed that Sch B promoted hepatic differentiation via activating the JAK2/STAT3 pathway. When transplanted HLCs into mice with CCL₄-induced liver fibrosis, Sch B-treated HLCs exhibited significant therapeutic effects. This study provides an optimized hepatic differentiation protocol for UC-MSCs based on Sch B, yielding functioning cells for liver disease treatment.