Transplantable lab-grown organs move a step closer

© 2020 EPFL - A liver organoid developed at EPFL offers new promise in transplantation and the study of liver disease. Biologists and bioengineers at EPFL have designed a new method for growing simplified human mini-livers. Their process is a potentially important breakthrough in the quest for transplantable lab-grown tissues. In the shorter term, the miniaturized organs will serve as a platform for trialing treatments against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the most common liver disorder in the developed world. Their findings have been published . The EPFL scientists created a simplified tiny version of the organ, known as an organoid, using bipotent stem cells that occur naturally in the bile ducts connecting the liver to the gallbladder. But the real breakthrough lies in the fact that the researchers developed a new type of matrix that, like a scaffold, provides structure.