Single-cell atlas of human liver development reveals pathways directing hepatic cell fates.

ABSTRACT: The liver has been studied extensively due to the broad number of diseases affecting its vital functions. However, therapeutic advances have been hampered by the lack of knowledge concerning human hepatic development. Here, we addressed this limitation by describing the developmental trajectories of different cell types that make up the human liver at single-cell resolution. These transcriptomic analyses revealed that sequential cell-to-cell interactions direct functional maturation of hepatocytes, with non-parenchymal cells playing essential roles during organogenesis. We utilized this information to derive bipotential hepatoblast organoids and then exploited this model system to validate the importance of signalling pathways in hepatocyte and cholangiocyte specification. Further insights

SUBMITTER: Wesley BT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7617064 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature