Scientists have created a personalized model of the human liver

Scientists from Uppsala University and several other research institutions have created a personalized human liver model that can significantly improve the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as biliary fibrosis. This was reported by Medical Xpress magazine on December 17.

The study focused on creating a complex three-dimensional model of the human liver, which used cells obtained from 28 patients. To do this, scientists have developed a system that allows us to reconstruct the organization of liver cells and their interaction — this is important for understanding how diseases such as fibrosis arise.

A group of researchers led by the director of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Germany, Meritxel Huch, and other institutions overcame a significant obstacle by creating a model reflecting the most important structural and functional characteristics of the human liver individually for each patient.

"I studied how well the models perform their function. I checked how well our liver models function compared to normal human liver cells. With the help of Fabian Rost, a computational biology specialist, I checked whether the models correctly reflect gene expression in living tissue," said Anke Liebert, the study's lead author and researcher.

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This liver model allows for more accurate studies of how different cells interact in a healthy organ and how these interactions can lead to diseases. This development opens up new perspectives for the creation of personalized treatment methods, as well as improves the diagnosis and testing of drugs.

The study also drew attention to the importance of a personalized approach in medicine. The created model can be used to create diagnostic tests, improve the assessment of drug toxicity, and develop new treatments for liver diseases. According to the publication, newly developed liver models can potentially change the approach to the study and treatment of diseases of the internal organ.

"With the help of our new model, we have overcome a serious problem. Until now, we have not been able to recreate the multicellular organization of the periportal liver tissue and cellular interactions outside a living organism. With our models, we can create and control different parts of the liver in the laboratory. This helps us understand how different cells and their environment interact to create a healthy liver, and when these interactions are disrupted, how diseases such as biliary fibrosis arise," concluded Huch.

On November 22, New Atlas magazine announced the creation of a fully synthetic model of the human brain by scientists at the University of California, Riverside. In the future, the research team plans to scale the technology and is currently already working on creating such models for other organs. The main goal was to create a network of mini-bodies that will interact with each other.

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