Cirrhosis is the long‑term outcome of chronic hepatic injury and no effective
therapy is currently available for this disease. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells that are easily acquired and amplified, and may be potential candidates for
cell therapy against
cirrhosis. This study aimed to determine the
therapeutic effects of human umbilical cord‑derived MSCs (hUCMSCs) for the treatment of
liver cirrhosis and identify an effective method for engrafting MSCs. The model of
liver cirrhosis was established by induction of
diethylnitrosamine (DEN) in rats. The isolated hUCMSCs were identified by morphology, flow cytometry and multilineage differentiation; they were injected into the vein of DEN‑induced rats at varied cell doses and infusion times. Biochemical analyses of the serum and histopathological analysis of the liver tissues were performed to evaluate the
therapeutic effects of hUCMSCs in all treatment groups. The results indicated that isolated hUCMSCs were capable of self‑replication and differentiated into multiple lineages, including osteoblast‑, adipocyte‑ and hepatocyte‑like cells. Compared with the control group, administration of hUCMSCs at different cell doses and infusion times relieved DEN‑induced
cirrhosis to varying degrees. The
therapeutic effects of hUCMSCs on
liver cirrhosis gradually improved with increased cell dose and infusion times. The improvement of
cirrhosis was due to the capacity of hUCMSCs to breakdown
collagen fibers in the liver. It was demonstrated that infusion of hUCMSCs effectively relieved
liver cirrhosis by facilitating the breakdown of
collagen fibers in a dose‑dependent manner and multiple infusions caused a relatively greater improvement in
cirrhosis compared with a single infusion of hUCMSCs.