State of the art of liver organoid generation toward transplant application

Abstract

The self-organizing tissue-based approach coupled with induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology is evolving as a promising field for designing organoids in culture; it is expected to achieve valuable practical outcomes in regenerative medicine and drug development. Organoids show properties of functional organs and represent an alternative to cell models in conventional two-dimensional differentiation platforms; moreover, organoids can be used to investigate mechanisms of development and disease, drug discovery and toxicity assessment. Here we review characters of emerging organoid technology focusing on liver bud as an example, and discuss their promise and challenges for the use regenerative medicine.