Univ. of Osaka Develops Miniature Livers from iPS Cells

   Osaka, April 18 (Jiji Press)--A University of Osaka team has said that it became the world's first to make elaborate miniature livers from human induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells.
   The small livers, called liver organoids, each about 0.5 millimeters in size, can function as well as the liver of a human newborn. The team expects that the organoids can be used to treat patients with end-stage liver disease.
   The research results were published in the online edition of the British journal Nature on Thursday.
   Regions in the liver have their own functions, such as synthesizing and breaking down sugar and fat. It was difficult to reproduce such a complex structure when making a liver from iPS cells.
   To make the organoids, the team including professor Takanori Takebe of the university's Graduate School of Medicine decided to use bilirubin, produced when red blood cells are broken down, and vitamin C because both substances control liver functions.

(2025/04/18-11:13)