Until now hepatocyte replication has been considered the main mechanism of liver regeneration after hepatectomy in mammals. We recently found that bone marrow cells can migrate into the liver upon resection and fuse with the hepatocytes. The derived hybrids proliferate and are essential for efficient liver regeneration, which is also predicted by mathematical modelling.
Pedone et al. Cell Reports. 2017 Jan 3;18(1):107-121.
http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/pdf/S2211-1247(16)31681-3.pdf
