Efficient hepatocyte differentiation of primary human hepatocyte-derived organoids using three dimensional nanofibers (HYDROX) and their possible application in hepatotoxicity research

Authors:
Yanran Tong, Yukiko Ueyama-Toba, Jumpei Yokota, Hayato Matsui, Masaki Kanai & Hiroyuki Mizuguchi
In:
Source: Scientific Reports
Publication Date: (2024)
Issue: 14: 1
Research Area:
Gastroenterology
Toxicology
Drug Discovery
Cells used in publication:
Hepatocyte, human
Species: human
Tissue Origin: liver
Culture Media:
Experiment

Drug-induced hepatotoxicity test

PHH-derived organoids were seeded on a 10 mg/mL HYDROX-coated 96-well plate. After 14 days of the HYDROX culture, Org-HYDROX were cultured with organoid expansion medium containing different concentrations of acetaminophen (Wako), troglitazone (Wako) and amiodaron (FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical) for 7 days. As a control group, PHHs (lot OHO; Celsis) cultured with hepatocyte culture medium (HCM; Lonza) for 48 h after plating on a 96-well plate were exposed to different concentrations of acetaminophen (Wako), troglitazone (Wako) and amiodaron (FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical) for 7 days. Cell viability was evaluated using a Cell Counting Kit-8 (Dojindo Laboratories) based on a WST-8 assay according to the manufacturer's instructions. The absorbance at 450 nm was determined by a multiplate reader (Bio-Rad). Cell viability was calculated as a percentage of the control (DMSO-treated group) viability, which was taken as 100%.

Abstract

Human liver organoids are in vitro three dimensionally (3D) cultured cells that have a bipotent stem cell phenotype. Translational research of human liver organoids for drug discovery has been limited by the challenge of their low hepatic function compared to primary human hepatocytes (PHHs). Various attempts have been made to develop functional hepatocyte-like cells from human liver organoids. However, none have achieved the same level of hepatic functions as PHHs. We here attempted to culture human liver organoids established from cryopreserved PHHs (PHH-derived organoids), using HYDROX, a chemically defined 3D nanofiber. While the proliferative capacity of PHH-derived organoids was lost by HYDROX-culture, the gene expression levels of drug-metabolizing enzymes were significantly improved. Enzymatic activities of cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4), CYP2C19, and CYP1A2 in HYDROX-cultured PHH-derived organoids (Org-HYDROX) were comparable to those in PHHs. When treated with hepatotoxic drugs such as troglitazone, amiodarone and acetaminophen, Org-HYDROX showed similar cell viability to PHHs, suggesting that Org-HYDROX could be applied to drug-induced hepatotoxicity tests. Furthermore, Org-HYDROX maintained its functions for up to 35 days and could be applied to chronic drug-induced hepatotoxicity tests using fialuridine. Our findings demonstrated that HYDROX could possibly be a novel biomaterial for differentiating human liver organoids towards hepatocytes applicable to pharmaceutical research.