Liver Spheroids
Liver Spheroids - Related Videos
09:51
Human Liver Spheroids from Peripheral Blood for Liver Disease Studies
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Cited by 5 •
2023
Here we present a non-genetic method to generate human autologous liver spheroids using mononuclear cells isolated from steady-state peripheral blood.
03:20
Splitting Spheroids for Sub-culturing and Shipping: A Procedure for Propagating and Transferring Spheroids from Small Bowel Neuroendocrine Tumor
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2023
This video demonstrates a strategy to split and propagate spheroids developed from small bowel neuroendocrine tumor cells. These spheroids have small bowel neuroendocrine tumor markers and can be propagated and further used to test anti-cancer drugs.
04:29
Immunofluorescent Staining of Spheroids: A Technique to Analyze Spheroids for Expression of Intra- and Extracellular Antigen Expression
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2023
This video describes the technique of immunofluorescent staining of spheroids to understand the differentiation of the fibroblasts or CAFs. This protocol helps detect expression of intra- and extracellular antigens, including deposition of ECM proteins within the spheroids.
02:59
Embedding 3D Spheroids in Agarose Gel Drops: A Technique to Preserve Spheroids for Downstream Analysis
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2023
This video describes the technique to embed 3D spheroids in agarose gel drops for preservation. The embedded 3D spheroids can be further used for downstream analysis.
12:35
In vivo Liver Endocytosis Followed by Purification of Liver Cells by Liver Perfusion
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Cited by 14 •
2011
The study of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs) must be performed with primary cells obtained from the animal as no cell lines exist. This method relies on liver digestion and differential centrifugation for SEC purification for subsequent culturing and experimentation.
FAQs
Within a spheroid, cell-cell adhesion and extracellular matrix interactions help maintain a coordinated three-dimensional arrangement. That organization creates gradients of oxygen, nutrients, and metabolites from the outer region toward the interior. These gradients are not merely structural: they alter cell behavior, allowing the model to capture microenvironmental effects that are difficult to reproduce in a flat culture.
Size, cellular composition, and culture conditions are key control variables. Changing spheroid size can alter the distance that oxygen and nutrients travel, while adding supporting cells can change how hepatocytes interact with their surroundings. Adjusting these variables therefore changes internal gradients and cell behavior, giving bioengineers a way to tune the model for a particular experimental question.
Compared with conventional two-dimensional cultures, liver spheroids provide tissue organization and controlled internal gradients that more closely reflect a three-dimensional cellular environment. This distinction matters because hepatocyte functions may decline in flat cultures, whereas spheroid-based models can maintain functions more effectively. The comparison is useful when selecting a platform for experiments requiring sustained, tissue-relevant liver behavior.
A basic workflow begins by selecting hepatocytes alone or combining them with supporting cells, then allowing the cells to self-assemble under chosen culture conditions. Researchers can tune cellular composition and spheroid size before evaluating the resulting model. This controlled setup links preparation choices to internal gradients and cell behavior, helping match the construct to drug, disease, or regeneration studies.
Liver spheroids are useful when an experiment must assess how liver cells respond in a more tissue-like model. In drug screening and hepatotoxicity testing, they can reveal effects under three-dimensional conditions; in disease modeling, they support investigation of altered liver behavior. Their retained cellular functions can provide outcomes that complement information from conventional two-dimensional cultures.
In bioengineering, these models also support liver regeneration research and the development of bioartificial liver systems. Their tunable size, cellular composition, and culture conditions let investigators examine how construct design affects liver-cell behavior and function. This flexibility makes spheroids useful for testing tissue-engineering strategies and for studying how engineered liver systems might be designed.