Every year, over two million people worldwide die from liver diseases. Until now, it has been difficult to study such diseases in the laboratory. Animal experiments only reproduce the human liver inaccurately. Simple cell cultures cannot mimic the complex processes in the organ. A research team from Dresden has now found a solution. The scientists have developed a three-dimensional model of the human liver that consists of real patient cells.
The team led by Meritxell Huch from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden has combined three different liver cell types. Hepatocytes form the main part of the liver. Cholangiocytes line the bile ducts. Mesenchymal liver cells are connective tissue cells. These three cell types organize themselves into a lifelike structure in the Petri dish.
Testing new drugs
Meritxell Huch heads the research group. "With our new model, we have mastered a major challenge. Until now, it was not possible to reconstruct the multicellular organization of periportal liver tissue and the cellular interactions outside the living body," she says. The researchers can now observe how different cells interact and how diseases develop.
The liver models can be used to test the efficacy and safety of new drugs. This could reduce animal testing. And because the models consist of cells from individual patients, personalized treatments are possible. "Our novel liver models have the potential to change the way we study and treat liver diseases," says Huch. The study was published in Nature.
