Abstract
Allogeneic liver transplantation is still deemed the gold standard solution for end-stage organ failure; however, donor organ shortages have led to extended waiting lists for organ transplants. In order to overcome the lack of donors, the development of new therapeutic options is mandatory. In the last several years, organ bioengineering has been extensively explored to provide transplantable tissues or whole organs with the final goal of creating a three-dimensional growth microenvironment mimicking the native structure. It has been frequently reported that an extracellular matrix-based scaffold offers a structural support and important biological molecules that could help cellular proliferation during the recellularization process. The aim of the present review is to underline the recent developments in cell-on-scaffold technology for liver bioengineering, taking into account: (1) biological and synthetic scaffolds; (2) animal and human tissue decellularization; (3) scaffold recellularization; (4) 3D bioprinting; and (5) organoid technology. Future possible clinical applications in regenerative medicine for liver tissue engineering and for drug testing were underlined and dissected.
Highlights
Liver dysfunction is one of the most severe health problems worldwide and is characterized by high morbidity and mortality [1]
A literature search from the databases PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct was done up to March 2019, we principally focused on the later years to provide the latest technological advances for several key-words inquiries: (1) liver; (2) scaffold; (3) extracellular matrix; (4) biomaterials; (5) 3D printing; (6) tissue; (7) organs; (8) regenerative medicine; (9) stem cells; (10) tissue engineering; (11) liver transplantation; (12) 3D liver bio-printing; and (13) animal models
The main goal of liver bioengineering remains to provide new functional organs for clinical translation in order to overcome the shortage of organ donors
Summary
Liver dysfunction is one of the most severe health problems worldwide and is characterized by high morbidity and mortality [1]. Data from the United States show that more than 15,000 patients have been added to the waiting list for liver transplantation, while only around 6000 liver transplants are performed yearly. This results in an increasing mismatch between the numbers of liver donors and recipients [2,3,4]. In order to overcome the lack of donors, the development of new therapeutic options, such as cell-based therapies that include liver cell transplantations, bioartificial livers, and engineered hepatic tissues, is mandatory [5,6,7].
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