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Due to the ever-growing chronic liver shortage, researchers at the University of Cambridge’s Biomedical Research Center, were forced to look for new options to fix the liver transplant crisis. What they found is seemingly the work of science fiction: the ability to repair a human liver from lab generated cells.

Most people know livers are regenerative; meaning the liver is able to self-replace lost tissue. Despite that, liver transplants are still needed. Yet, scientists at the University of Cambridge have been able to repair donated livers and even grow a mini bile duct from lab grown cells.

This new information can potentially mediate the sky-high wait times patients are currently experiencing. The average time for someone waiting for a liver transplant is anywhere between one month and five years (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases). In fact, in 2018, there were only around 8,000 people who received transplants with another 12,000 stuck just waiting for their chance (Mayo Clinic). For a long time this meant that patients were waiting for years in agony, hoping today will be the day I get the call to be able to get the life saving procedure they need. However, things are starting to finally change for the better.

It is well known there is a liver shortage, but that does not just mean there are not as many people willing to donate. It is also the fact that many are rejected due to malfunctioning bile ducts, or the “tube that carries bile from the liver and gallbladder, through the pancreas, and into the small intestine” (cancer.gov)

Thankfully, researchers took this problem head on and were able to show, for the first time in history, that cholangiocyte cells can be grown in lab and can be used to repair livers categorized as unfit for transplant. Scientists began utilizing a new technique that uses biliary cells, or the cells that aid in liver repair, from the gallbladder and converts them to the cells of bile ducts, forming what is known as an “organoid” (National Institute for Health and Care Research). Journalist Matthew Roberts wrote the following explaining the process,

“Organoids are clusters of cells that can grow and proliferate in culture, taking on a 3D structure that has the same tissue architecture, function and gene expression and genetic functions as the part of the organ being studied. They then grafted these gallbladder organoids into mice and found that they were indeed able to repair damaged ducts…”

In Laymans terms; the cell groups grow in the petri dishes and grow to the point where they are genetically, functionally, and physically identical to the real thing.

Growing these organoids means much for people suffering as, according to The National Health Executive, malfunctioning bile ducts also are the reason for the majority of adolescent liver transplants and more than one third of adult transplants. These organoids can be used as “replacement parts” for already too damaged bile ducts. This means big things for helping people off the waiting list and getting them onto the operating table.

In conclusion researchers are hoping this will lead to the ability to save the damaged livers which are rejected so often, in addition to helping the human liver repair itself and having the ability to use more donated livers. From cell to organoid; the University of Cambridge figured it out and are well on the way to their goal, and if they continue on the track they’re headed, it’s safe to say that the world of liver transplants might just be changing.

References

“Center for Regenerative Medicine – Liver Regeneration.” Mayo Clinic, 20 Oct. 2017, https://www.mayo.edu/research/centers-programs/center-regenerative-medicine/focus-areas/liver-regeneration.

Human Liver Repaired Using Cells Grown in a Laboratory for the First Time. National Institute for Health and Care Research, 19 Feb. 2021, https://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/human-liver-repaired-using-cells-grown-in-a-laboratory-for-the-first-time/27016.

“Liver Transplant.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 19 May 2022, https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/liver-transplant/about/pac-20384842.

“NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms.” National Cancer Institute, https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/common-bile-duct.

Roberts, Matt. “Human Liver Repaired Using Lab-Grown Cells.” National Health Executive, 22 Feb. 2021, https://www.nationalhealthexecutive.com/articles/NIHR-human-liver-lab-grown-cells.

“The Liver Transplant Process.” National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/liver-disease/liver-transplant/preparing-transplant.

University of Cambridge. “Lab-grown ‘mini-bile ducts’ used to repair human livers in regenerative medicine first.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 February 2021. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210218142801.htm>.