Š Convit/Dollar Photo Club
bioprinting
The bioprinted liver Bioprinted liver tissue containing both parenchymal and nonparenchymal cells in spatially controlled, user-defined geometries that reproduce compositional and architectural features of native tissue are making it possible to assess drug effects over timeframes much longer than those offered by 2D liver cell culture systems.
T
as two-thirds of a whole healthy liver is surgically removed, the hepatocytes within the liver remnant undergo rapid and extensive proliferation to restore he liver is responsible for many things:
liver mass completely. Inside the body, hepatocytes
filtering the blood, metabolising and transporting
are polarised along a border of endothelial cells, with
drugs, and producing a myriad of proteins that are
formation of canaliculi along their apical surface and
critical to homeostasis (albumin, clotting factors,
tight junctions between neighbouring cells.
enzymes involved in protein metabolism). It is also
However, once removed from the body,
central to the pathogenesis of several infectious
hepatocytes replicate poorly and rapidly lose critical
diseases, including hepatitis, and it can also be seriously
liver-specific functions. Loss of polarisation - as occurs
and irreversibly injured by chronic exposure to alcohol.
when hepatocytes are cultured in simple monolayers
Many genetic disorders are linked to reduction or
on standard tissue culture-treated plastic - leads to
absence of proteins that would normally be produced
loss of function and an inability of the hepatocyte to
by the liver. No wonder that a lot of research centres
maintain the intracellular architecture that enables
on liver function and biochemistry.
absorption, transport and bile production.
Most liver functions are dependent, in part, on
While liver cells, in particular the parenchymal
architecture. Hepatocytes inside the body have a nearly
hepatocytes, have been widely used in the laboratory
unlimited capacity for replication. When as much
to assess the potential toxicity or efficacy of drugs,
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LAB+LIFE SCIENTIST - January 2015 | 43