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In vitro studies on a bioreactor module containing encapsulated goat hepatocytes for the development of bioartificial
Aleem A Khan1, Adarsh K Capoor, N Parveen
1Center for Liver Diseases, Owaisi Hospital and Research Center, Deccan College of Medical Sciences, Kanchanbagh, Santoshnagar, Hyderabad. aleem_a_khan@rediffmail.com
Background:
A bioartificial liver may act as a temporary metabolic bridge in patients with acute liver failure. We devised a bioreactor module containing encapsulated goat hepatocytes and studied its efficiency in detoxifying ammonia.
Methods:
A hollow-glass bioreactor module was designed and fabricated locally. The module was inoculated with alginate poly-L-lysine microcapsules with entrapped goat hepatocytes. Metabolism of ammonia and glucose was assessed. Antibody-mediated cell cytotoxicity was also assessed.
Results:
The optimum encapsulated goat hepatocyte concentration was 12-18 billion at a perfusate flow rate of 30 mL/min under oxygenated condition. The optimum ammonium chloride concentration for detoxification was 2.5-5.0 mM. There was little or no cytolysis of encapsulated hepatocytes on exposure to complement-inactivated human AB serum.
Conclusion:
Encapsulated goat hepatocytes efficiently detoxified ammonia to urea. Cells were metabolically active up to 48 hours, indicating their feasibility for use in a bioreactor module. Encapsulation protected the hepatocytes from antibody-mediated cell lysis.