Abstract
Bioartificial liver (BAL) comprising a functional bioreactor represents a promising treatment, bridging patients with acute liver failure (ALF) to liver transplantation. In this research, a packed-bed (PB) bioreactor by utilizing galactosylated poly(ethylene terephthalate) microfibrous carrier (PET-Gal) was fabricated and evaluated in vitro. Human induced hepatocytes (hiHeps) were dynamically seeded into a PET-Gal loaded bioreactor and cultured for 10 days. During perfusion culture, the effects of bioreactor scaffold on hepatocyte seeding, growth and functionality (albumin secretion and urea production) were determined, compared with that of control with non-modified PET carrier. Afterwards, drug metabolism and detoxification ability of hiHeps were measured. Results demonstrated that the seeding rate and proliferation fold within PET-Gal loaded bioreactor were significantly higher than that of control, resulting in a cell density of (8.17 ± 0.52)×107 cells/cm3. In contrast to flattened morphology observed in the control, hiHeps cultured in PET-Gal based bioreactor displayed as three-dimensional (3D) cell aggregates with close cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions and high cell viability, leading to higher albumin secretion and urea production. Besides, there were high levels of phase I drug metabolism and ammonia elimination for PET-Gal cultured cells. Therefore, the PET-Gal based PB bioreactor fabricated herein supports high-density hepatocyte growth and meanwhile preserves hepatic functionality, showing great potential in BAL systems application.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.