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Updated: Sep 22, 2025
Three-Dimensional Collagen Matrix Scaffold Implantation as a Liver Regeneration Strategy
Published on: June 29, 2021
Syngeneic implantation of mouse hepatic progenitor cell-derived three-dimensional liver tissue with dense collagen
Miho Tamai1, Eijiro Adachi2, Masaya Kawase3
1School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama-shi 226-8501, Japan.
Background:
Liver transplantation is a therapy for irreversible liver failure; however, at present, donor organs are in short supply. Cell transplantation therapy for liver failure is still at the developmental stage and is critically limited by a shortage of human primary hepatocytes.
Aim:
To investigate the possibility that hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) prepared from the portal branch-ligated hepatic lobe may be used in regenerative medicine, we attempted to enable the implantation of extracellular matrices containing organoids consisting of HPC-derived hepatocytes and non-parenchymal cells.
Methods:
In vitro liver organoid tissue has been generated by accumulating collagen fibrils, fibroblasts, and HPCs on a mesh of polylactic acid fabric using a bioreactor; this was subsequently implanted into syngeneic wild-type mice.
Results:
The in vitro liver organoid tissues generated transplantable tissues in the condensed collagen fibril matrix and were obtained from the mouse through partial hepatectomy.
Conclusion:
Liver organoid tissue was produced from expanded HPCs using an originally designed bioreactor system. This tissue was comparable to liver lobules, and with fibroblasts embedded in the network collagen fibrils of this artificial tissue, it is useful for reconstructing the hepatic interstitial structure.
