A decade of liver organoids: Advances in disease modeling

Abstract

Liver organoids are three-dimensional cellular tissue models in which cells interact to form unique structures in culture. During the past 10 years, liver organoids with various cellular compositions, structural features, and functional properties have been described. Methods to create these advanced human cell models range from simple tissue culture techniques to complex bioengineering approaches. Liver organoid culture platforms have been used in various research fields, from modeling liver diseases to regenerative therapy. This review discusses how liver organoids are used to model disease, including hereditary liver diseases, primary liver cancer, viral hepatitis, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Specifically, we focus on studies that used either of two widely adopted approaches: differentiation from pluripotent stem cells or epithelial organoids cultured from patient tissues. These approaches have enabled the generation of advanced human liver models and, more importantly, the establishment of patient-tailored models for evaluating disease phenotypes and therapeutic responses at the individual level.

Keywords

• organoids
• liver diseases
• stem cells
• pluripotent stem cells