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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Sep 14.
Published in final edited form as: Hepat Med. 2011 Sep 1;3:89–98. doi: 10.2147/HMER.S12368

Figure 7.

Figure 7

Regulation of hepatic oval cell differentiation via Notch signaling. Diagram depicting the involvement of Notch signaling in the differentiation of stem/progenitor cells. Left: In the case of a general bipotential cell, the up- or downregulation of Notch signaling decides the fate of that cell. In the absence of the Notch signal, the cell will assume a primary fate; however, when Notch signaling is activated, that cell will develop into the secondary phenotype. Middle: Applying this concept to the oval cell system during liver regeneration, we find that Notch signaling is necessary for the proper ratio of differentiation to occur. When Notch signaling is active, we see the oval cells assuming both hepatocyte and cholangiocyte phenotypes, but in the absence of the signal. Right: Proper maturation fails to occur, an apparent arrest in the differentiation capacity of the oval cells.