Generation of Functional Endodermal Hepatic Organoids

Organoid technology has allowed us to generate a variety of human organ-like mini structures, such as for the liver, brain, and intestine, in vitro. The remarkable advances in organoid models have recently opened a new experimental era for various applications in disease modeling, developmental biology, and drug discovery. Adult stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived liver organoids govern the generation of hepatocytes to use for diverse applications. Here, we present a robust and reproducible protocol for generating hepatic organoids from pluripotent stem cells. This protocol is applicable to healthy and patient-derived cells. To achieve 3D endoderm-derived hepatic organoids (eHEPOs), iPSCs were directly first differentiated into endodermal cells, and then FACS-enriched EpCAM-positive (EpCAM+) cells were used to establish hepatic organoids using the expansion medium. We provide a fast and efficient method to generate hepatic organoids within 2 weeks. The generated organoids mimic the essential properties and functions of hepatocytes, such as albumin secretion, glycogen storage, and cytochrome P450 enzyme activity. Besides the liver-specific gene expression similarities, eHEPOs comprise polarized epithelial cells with bile canaliculi in between. In addition, eHEPOs can be expanded and serial passages long term (1 year) without losing their capacity to differentiate into mature hepatocytes. Thus, eHEPOs provide an alternative source to produce functional hepatocytes.