[Bioartificial liver support system: state of the art]

The temporary function replacement and intensive support play a pivotal role in the treatment of patients with acute or chronic end-stage organ failure. The hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis have become routine techniques in the management of acute or chronic renal failure. But for the complexity of hepatic function, e.g. metabolism, biosynthesis and biotransformation for endogenous or exogenous substrates, the simulation or partial replacement of hepatic function is a great dream of bionic technologists. With the development of cell biology and biomedical material, the combination of biomaterial and the hepatocyte cultured ex vivo could provide a range of human liver-specific functions. The combination of biomaterial and viable cell was called hybrid or bioartificial liver support system (BALSS). It is a chimera of biomaterials and hepatocytes. The bionic technologists study the cell and its culture in vitro, which is the main component of BASLL. Many types of BALSS were translated into the early clinical stage. In this overview, we review the hepatocyte culture and the design of different bioreactors. It includes the immune obstacles in xeno-hemoperfusion and how to assess pre-clinical and clinical effectiveness.