In vivo hepatic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells from human umbilical cord blood after transplantation into mice with liver injury

► hUCB-MSCs were positive for the human MSC-specific markers. ► Cells were transplanted into SCID mouse via the tail vein. ► Homing ability was detected with human Alu sequence by PCR. ► Mouse livers express markers of human hepatic lineage after cell transplantation. ► Partially repair the hepatic damage.