Methods of isolating and cryopreserving progenitors from human liver aredisclosed which include processing human liver tissue to provide asubstantially single cell suspension comprising progenitors and non-progenitors of one or more cell lineages found in human liver； subjecting thesuspension to a debulking step, which reduces substantially the mumber of non-progenitors in the suspension, and which provides a debulked suspensionenriched in progenitors exhibiting one or more markers associated with atleast one of the one or more cell lineages； and selecting from said debulkedsuspension those cells, which themselves, their progeny, or more mature formsthereof expess one or more markers associated with at least one of the one ormore cell lineages. Among these markers are CD14, CD34, CD38, CD45, and ICAM.Hepatic progenitors are characterized as being 6-15 µ in diameter, diploid,glycophorin A-, CD45-, AFP+++, ALB+, ICAM+ and with subpopulations varying inexpression of CD 14+, CD34++, CD38++, CD117+. These progenitor subpopulationshave characteristics expected for cells that are particularly useful in livercell and gene therapies and for extablishing bioartificial organs.
