multi fate stem cell hepatoblast https://cellxgene.cziscience.com/cellguide/CL_0005026 Hepatoblasts are immature precursor cells that predominate during the early stages of liver development, specifically in the embryonic phase of life. They first arise from the endoderm, one of the three primary germ layers in the very early embryo, and then differentiate into two distinct mature liver cell types - the hepatocytes and cholangiocytes. During liver organogenesis hepatoblasts proliferate and migrate into the septum transversum to form the liver bud. Proliferation and differentiation of these cells are regulated by several soluble factors, such as hepatocyte growth factor, which is a mitogen of both hepatoblasts and mature hepatocytes. As they start to differentiate into hepatocytes and cholangiocytes, the cells begin to express hepatic markers like albumin and alpha-fetoprotein. Although hepatoblasts are specified embryonic liver cells that are bipotential for hepatocytes and cholangiocytes, a subset of liver cells (called oval cells) has been identified in adults that express stem cell markers, such as CD133 and cKIT, and has been suggested to have the same potential as hepatoblasts to differentiate into hepatocytes and cholangiocytes. (This extended description was generated by ChatGPT and reviewed by the CellGuide team, who added references, and by the CL editors, who approved it for inclusion in CL. It may contain information that applies only to some subtypes and species, and so should not be considered definitional.) Multi fate stem cell that gives rise to both hepatocytes and cholangiocytes as descendants. The term often refers to fetal precursors of hepatocytes (differently from 'hepatic stem cell', usually applied to the self-renewing pool of hepatocyte precursors in the adult liver). Hepatoblasts may also be endogenous, as some stem cells found in the liver come from the bone marrow via blood circulation. https://github.com/obophenotype/cell-ontology/issues/800