Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Patients With Autoimmune Hepatitis

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is characterized by chronic inflammation of the liver, interface hepatitis, hypergammaglobulinemia, and the presence of autoantibodies. Disease presentation is varied but typically is based on characteristic aminotransferase elevations, histological abnormalities, elevated levels of serum globulins, and the presence of one or more autoantibodies. Two types of juvenile AIH have been identified according to seropositivity for smooth muscle and /or antinuclear antibody (AIH type 1) or liver kidney microsomal antibody (AIH type 2). Standard therapy in clinic consists of a combination of corticosteroids and azathioprine, which displays the efficacy in 80% of patients. However, 7% of patients deteriorate despite compliance with the standard corticosteroid regiments (treatment failure),13% of patients improve but not to a degree that satisfies remission criteria (incomplete response), 13% of patients develop serious drug-induced complications, and 50%-86% of patients will relapse after drug withdrawal. These serious drawbacks counterbalance the benefits of conventional therapy, and they are compelling reasons to refine current treatment strategies and pursue alternative therapies. UC-MSC has been the application for the treatment of several severe autoimmune diseases, such as immune thrombocytopenia, systemic lupus erythematosus, and therapy-resistant rheumatoid arthritis. In this study, the safety and efficacy of UC-MSC transplantation for AIH patients will be evaluated.