Release date: 2010-11-03
Researchers at the Institute of Regenerative Medicine at the University of Wake Forest, Baptist University, have reached a new turning point in the laboratory to replace the liver. Although it is still in its early stages, it is significant.
They were the first to use human liver cells to create a fully functional miniature liver like the human liver. The next step is to see if they can continue to work properly after transplanting the liver into the animal.
The results of the study will be announced at the annual meeting of the American College of Liver Diseases in Boston on the 31st. Its ultimate goal is to provide alternative livers for patients who need liver transplantation, and to solve the problem of donor liver insufficiency. In addition, this liver can also be used to test new drugs. "I am very excited about the possibility of this research," said Shay Sokol, professor of regenerative medicine and project director. "But it is still in its infancy, and there are still many before it benefits patients." Technical barriers need to be overcome, which makes us feel stressed. We must not only learn how to grow billions of liver cells at a time to make a liver that can be transplanted to patients, but we must also determine whether these organs can be safely used in patients. Body."
The first author of the study, Petillo Barbitista, said that this was the first study to use the human liver cells to grow the liver in the laboratory. He said: "We hope that after being transplanted into animals or patients, they can continue to work as they do in the laboratory." To make this organ, scientists used a cleaning agent to remove all the cells from the animal's liver ( This process is called whole organ decellularization, leaving only the collagen "scaffold", or support structure. The original cells are then replaced with two human cells: immature hepatocytes and endothelial cells called origins.
These cells are implanted into the liver scaffold using large vessels with a series of smaller vessels in the liver. Through the whole organ decellularization process, this vascular network remains intact. The scientist then puts the liver into a bioreactor, a special instrument that provides a constant flow of nutrient solution and oxygen to the entire organ. After spending a week in the bioreactor, scientists confirmed that it further formed human liver tissue and produced related functions. At this time they will carefully observe the cell growth inside this bioengineered organ. The ability to make livers using animal cells has previously been demonstrated. However, it is not clear whether it can be used to make a functional human liver.
The researchers say the current study reveals a whole-organ bioengineering approach that may prove to be critical not only for the treatment of liver disease, but also for the growth of organs such as the kidneys and pancreas. Scientists at the Institute of Regenerative Medicine at the University of Wake Forest's Baptist Medical Center are involved in the project and many other tissue and organ research projects, and are developing cell therapies to restore organ function. Bioengineered liver can also be used to assess the safety of new drugs. Barbitista said: "This is closer to the metabolism of simulated drugs in the human liver, which is difficult to reproduce in animals."
Source: Bio Valley Bioon.com
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