A Chemically Defined Hydrogel for Human Liver Organoid Culture

Hydrogels have high water content, excellent swelling performance, good biocompatibility, high permeability and 3D network structure, which are widely used in tissue engineering, wound repair and regenerative medicine. In a study on Advanced Functional Materials, Dutch researchers reported a new hydrogel based on polyisocyanide (PIC) and laminin-111, which can be used for human liver organ cultures.

PIC is a synthetic polymer that can form a hydrogel with thermosensitive properties, making it easy to handle and very attractive for clinical applications. Organoids in an optimized PIC hydrogel proliferate at rates comparable to those observed with Matrigel; proliferation rates are stiffness‐dependent, with lower stiffnesses being optimal for organoid proliferation.

Experiments show that in the optimized PIC hydrogel, the proliferation rate of organic matter is comparable to that observed by Matrigel. Matrigel is a mixture of gel proteins extracted from the extracellular matrix of Engelbreth-Holm-Sarm mouse sarcoma. It has strong biological activity, but it is derived from murine tumors and the organoids cultured on it are not suitable for clinical use. . The development of new hydrogels provides an optimal environment for organoid formation and expansion.

The researchers also analyzed the mechanical properties of the hydrogel and found that the proliferation rate of organoids depends on the hardness of the hydrogel, and the lower hardness is the best condition for its proliferation. Furthermore, organoids are highly proliferative in hydrogels when cultured in EM, and can effectively differentiate into functional hepatocyte-like cells when cultured in DM. Importantly, organoid stem cell phenotypes and proliferation and differentiation abilities can be maintained through several passages, so that they appear to expand indefinitely and subsequently mature, and this proliferation and differentiation potential is maintained for at least 14 generations.

The results indicate that PIC is very promising for human liver organoid culture and has the potential to be used in a variety of clinical applications including cell therapy and tissue engineering.

References:

Shicheng Ye, et al. A Chemically Defined Hydrogel for Human Liver Organoid Culture. Advanced Functional Materials, 2020. DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202000893