The Liver: An Overlooked Organ with Critical Functions for Maintaining Health

The liver is an indispensable organ with multiple critical functions that are vital for maintaining health. Its role impacts nearly every aspect of the body's metabolism and essential physiological processes.


Metabolism and Energy Production

The liver plays a central role in metabolism by managing energy production from nutrients. It regulates the balance and production of glucose, converting excess glucose into glycogen for storage, and releasing it into the bloodstream to keep energy levels steady.


Bile Production and Digestion

Bile production is another pivotal function. The liver produces bile, which is essential for digestion, especially in breaking down fats. Stored in the gallbladder, bile is then released into ducts within the small intestine when needed.


Detoxification and Waste Removal

Responsible for detoxification, the liver filters toxins from the blood, including alcohol, and expels them from the body. The organ's capability to neutralize harmful substances is crucial for preventing damage to other tissues and organs.


Protein Synthesis and Blood Clotting

The liver is essential for synthesizing various proteins required by the body, such as albumin. It also plays a key role in blood clotting, producing factors necessary for clot formation and utilizing vitamin K to create proteins that help in this process.


Storage of Vitamins and Minerals

This organ serves as a storage site for important vitamins and minerals, including iron and copper. The liver helps in storing vitamins A, D, E, K, and B12, and releases them as needed to sustain various body functions.


Regeneration and Healing

The liver has a remarkable ability to regenerate after injury, which ensures its continued function even after significant tissue loss. This ability is key to its resilience and is unique among the body's organs.


Immune Function and Disease Prevention

Lastly, the liver aids in immune function and disease prevention. It houses Kupffer cells, which are specialized cells that engulf potential threats like bacteria in the blood, helping to maintain overall health and prevent infections.

October 18, 2025
𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: This study explores how we can improve lab-grown liver cells for medical research and drug testing. The MTMLab team works with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) - special cells that can be transformed into liver-like cells - because real human liver cells are hard to obtain. However, these lab-grown liver cells don't function as well as mature adult liver cells. The research team discovered that the surface environment where these cells grow is crucial for their development. We created tiny fiber scaffolds made from different materials like collagen, decellularized livers, and chitosan that mimic the natural structure around liver cells. When liver cells were grown on these specially designed nanofibers for three weeks, they displayed higher function compared to cells grown on standard surfaces. Our key finding was that both the material composition and the nanoscale fiber structure were important - stiffer synthetic fibers or softer materials without the appropriate topography or composition prevented proper cell maturation. This research helps create better lab models of human liver tissue that can be used for testing new drugs and studying liver diseases more effectively.

2025 BMES Annual Meeting - MTMLab Member Presentations!

October 7, 2025
Owen Lally Modeling the synergistic effects of alcohol and fats on liver disease via engineered cocultures In Vitro Liver Toxicology Testing of Rat and Dog Hepatocytes to Reduce In Vivo Regulatory Requirements Nathan Shelton Enhancing the Functions and Hepatitis B Virus Infectability of Primary Human Hepatocytes Protein Microarrays to Probe Synergistic Effects of Extracellular Matrix Composition and Stiffness on Liver Macrophages Lesly Villarreal Engineering a 3D Placental Trophoblast Invasion Platform Via Droplet Microfluidics Gas-permeable Plates to Model Synergetic Effects of Oxygen and Endothelial Factors on Liver Zonation Emanuele Spanghero Modeling the Interplay Between Liver and Heart Diseases via a Human Dual-Organ Platform Engineering High Cell Density Beating Cords of Cardiomyocytes and Fibroblasts via Photopatterned Alginate

MTMLab Research Summary: Improving Lab-Grown Liver Cell Maturation

May 7, 2025
Our latest study addresses a critical challenge in liver tissue engineering: stem cell-derived liver cells (iHeps) typically remain functionally immature, limiting their usefulness for drug testing and disease modeling. Our research team created 3D microtissues using droplet microfluidics technology by: • Encapsulating iHeps in tiny collagen gel droplets (~250 μm diameter) • Coating these structures with various non-parenchymal cells (NPCs) • Testing different combinations and sequences of supporting cells Key findings: 1) Embryonic fibroblasts and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) produced the most mature iHeps compared to other tested cell types 2) Sequential application of cell signals (embryonic fibroblasts first, then LSECs) yielded optimal maturation 3) Specific growth factors like stromal-derived factor-1 alpha were identified as important maturation enhancers 4) Gene expression analysis confirmed that LSEC/iHep microtissues closely resembled adult human liver cells This platform enables researchers to identify critical cellular interactions and molecular signals that drive liver cell maturation, providing valuable insights for developing more physiologically relevant liver models for drug screening and regenerative medicine applications. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S174270612500193X SIMPLE SUMMARY: Embryonic fibroblasts and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells dramatically improved iHep maturation compared to other cell types tested, producing more functionally mature liver cells. Sequential application proved crucial—adding embryonic fibroblasts first, followed by endothelial cells, yielded optimal maturation. Specific growth factors including stromal-derived factor-1 enhanced this process. This research enables creation of more authentic mini-liver tissues that function like human liver. These improved models support better drug testing, disease research, and regenerative medicine applications.