Rescue of extreme hepatectomy mice by primary hepatocyte-derived 3D bio-printed organ transplantation.

Jin, Bao; Xie, Zhibo; Wang, Yinhan; Lu, Yuce; Sun, Lejia; He, Zhangyuting; Ye, Yuqian; Fang, Zhiyuan et al. · Biofabrication · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is an emerging strategy for constructing tissues and organs<i>in vitro</i>. Here, we achieved long-term expansion of primary mouse hepatocytes using a defined medium and constructed liver tissue using 3D bioprinting. The 3D-printed liver tissue demonstrated several essential liver functions and was able to prolong the survival of mice with acute liver failure due to extreme hepatectomy after<i>in vivo</i>transplantation, and the transplanted artificial liver tissue showed distinct functional partitioning. Overall, our results develop a method for long-term<i>in vitro</i>culture of primary hepatocytes and demonstrate the potential of 3D bio-printed liver tissue for clinical translational applications.

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