Only an Inch in Diameter, Lab Organ is not Fit for Humans, but Opens the Door for Drug Testing or Creating Bigger Livers

(CBS) Researchers at Wake Forest University’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine have grown a miniature liver using human cells. It’s only an inch in diameter – not big enough to work for a human. But the hope is to someday grow bigger livers for people who need them, or to use them for testing new drugs.

To engineer the organs, the scientists used animal livers that were treated with a mild detergent to remove all cells, leaving only the collagen “skeleton.”
They then replaced the original cells with two types of human cells: immature liver cells known as progenitors, and endothelial cells that line blood vessels.
It’s the first time human — rather than animal — cells have been used to engineer livers in a laboratory setting.

“Our hope is that once these organs are transplanted, they will maintain and gain function as they continue to develop,” said lead author Pedro Baptista, PharmD, Ph.D. Said Shay Soker, Ph.D., professor of regenerative medicine and project director, “We are excited about the possibilities this research represents, but must stress that we’re at an early stage and many technical hurdles must be overcome before it could benefit patients.”