What Are iPSC-derived Hepatocytes? Why Are They Important?
iPSC-derived hepatocytes are liver cells created from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). iPSCs are special because they can be generated from adult cells—like skin or blood cells—through a process called reprogramming. This involves introducing certain genes that revert these adult cells back to a pluripotent state, meaning they can turn into almost any cell type in the body.
Once iPSCs are established, scientists can guide them to become hepatocytes, the main cells that make the liver function. These iPSC-derived hepatocytes are incredibly useful for a range of purposes:
- Disease Modeling: Researchers can create iPSCs from a patient’s own cells and turn them into hepatocytes to study liver diseases on a cellular level.
- Drug Testing and Toxicity Screening: These liver cells offer a human-based model to test how new drugs work and whether they’re safe, potentially reducing the need for animal testing.
- Regenerative Medicine: iPSC-derived hepatocytes could be key to developing cell-based therapies for liver diseases or even creating bioengineered liver tissue.
- Basic Research: By studying these cells, scientists can gain deeper insights into liver development, function, and the underlying mechanisms of liver diseases.
In short, iPSC-derived hepatocytes are a powerful tool in biomedical research and therapeutic development, offering a personalized, human-relevant way to explore liver function and disease.
Related MTMLab Publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39082962/
Recent advances in biofabrication are revolutionizing liver tissue engineering by enabling precise spatial patterning of liver cells to mimic the organ’s complex architecture. Techniques like 3D bioprinting, microfluidics, and self-assembled cell aggregates help recreate critical features such as metabolic zones, cell polarity, and vascular networks. These engineered liver models improve drug testing, disease research, and hold promise for regenerative therapies. Despite challenges in scaling and standardization, integrating multiple fabrication methods and emerging technologies like machine learning are driving progress. Ultimately, these innovations bring us closer to creating functional liver tissues for clinical and pharmaceutical applications. See full article here.
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.
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