Expansion of human primary hepatocytes in vitro through their amplification as liver progenitors in a 3D organoid system.

ABSTRACT: Despite decades of investigation on the proliferation of adult human primary hepatocytes, their expansion in vitro still remains challenging. To later be able to consider hepatocytes as a cell therapy alternative or bridge to liver transplantation, dramatically impeded by a shortage in liver donors, the first step is having an almost unlimited source of these cells. The banking of transplantable hepatocytes also implies a protocol for their expansion that can be compatible with large-scale production. We show that adult human primary hepatocytes when grown in 3D organoids are easily amplified, providing a substantial source of functional hepatocytes ready for transplantation. Following their plating, differentiated human hepatocytes are amplified during a transient and reversible step as l

SUBMITTER: Garnier D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5974235 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature