Engineered liver tissue expands after transplant
Many diseases, including cirrhosis and hepatitis, can lead to liver failure. More than 17,000 Americans suffering from these diseases are now waiting for liver transplants, but significantly fewer livers are available. To help address that shortage, researchers at MIT, Rockefeller University, and Boston University have developed a new way to engineer liver tissue, by organizing tiny subunits that contain three types of cells embedded into a biodegradable tissue scaffold. In a study of mice with damaged livers, the researchers found that after being implanted in the abdomen, the tiny structures expanded 50-fold and were able to perform normal liver tissue functions. “There are just not enough organs to go around. Our goal is that one day we could use this technology to increase the number of transplants that are done for patients, which right now is very limited,” says Sangeeta Bhatia, the John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Health Sciences and Technology...