November 16, 2017
Keio University School of Medicine
A research group led by Project Professor Eiji Kobayashi of the Keio University School of Medicine, in a joint research project with the Kyushu University School of Medicine and the Saga University School of Medicine, has successfully created small liver aggregates from human-derived cells, cultured them ex vivo using a bio-3D printer, and engrafted liver tissue from these human-derived cells in vivo in rats using a newly developed transplantation method.
In organ regeneration research, which aims to create whole organs, a major challenge has been growing regenerated organs to a sufficient size, both in vitro and in vivo. This study demonstrates that for an organ to mature, a transplantation "environment" that considers the original blood flow and the development of related technologies are essential. This is expected to be a significant step toward solving the challenge of organ "development" in the field of transplantation.
The results of this research were published on October 26 in "Nature Scientific Reports," a comprehensive journal of natural and clinical sciences.
For the full press release, please see below.