Development of miniature livers from induced pluripotent stem cells

Professor Takanori Takebe. Photo: NYSCF

These tiny livers, called liver organoids, are about 0.5 mm in size each and function similarly to a newborn baby's liver. The team hopes that these organoids could be used to treat patients with end-stage liver disease.

To create these organs, the team - including Professor Takanori Takebe of Osaka University's Graduate School of Medicine - decided to use bilirubin - a substance produced when red blood cells break down - and vitamin C, both of which control liver function. When iPS cells and these two substances were placed in a container under certain conditions and cultured, liver tissue with a complex structure of about 0.5 mm was formed.

In experiments on mice with severe liver failure, more than 50% of mice transplanted with thousands of organoid liver tissues were still alive after 30 days, much higher than the survival rate of less than 30% in mice that did not receive the same treatment. The team hopes that the technology to produce organoid livers can be used to develop artificial liver devices, such as those used for dialysis to replace liver function.

MINH CHAU

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/phat-trien-gan-thu-nho-tu-te-bao-goc-da-nang-cam-ung-post791318.html