Available Technologies

Background

Advanced liver models are increasingly needed as alternatives to conventional animal models. Although liver organoids can reproduce key liver cells, the formation of mature and perfusable vascular networks remains a major challenge, limiting their functionality and cell viability. Co-culture with vascular endothelial cells has been explored, but achieving sufficiently developed vascular structures and effective perfusion remains difficult.

Description and Advantages

Researchers at Kyoto Universityhave developeda culture method that recreates an in vivo-likemechanical environment, enabling efficient formation of vascular networkswithin organoids.Based on this method, the teamdeveloped a culture device (Fig. 1) and confirmed vascular network formation within liver organoids (Figs. 2 and 3).The vascular network supports oxygen and nutrientsupply,waste removal, and drug transport, while promoting cellular maturation and function and enabling more physiologically relevant tissue structures.

➢No specialized technical skills required
Liver organoids can be generated by seeding spheroids into the culture device (Fig. 1).

➢Production of liver organoids thatclosely resemble the in vivo environment
Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis confirmed the successful generation of
physiologically relevant organoids.