Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) have developed a liver organoid that mimics the complex architecture of the bile ducts, offering a new tool to study how injury and disease affect an organ that has been difficult to study in vitro until now. In a study published in Nature , the organoid model was reported to provide insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind cholestatic disease and biliary fibrosis.

The new model replicates the liver periportal region, where hepatocytes release bile into the bile ducts. “We chose this region in particular since it plays a key role in bile transport and is often disrupted in liver diseases when the connection of cells responsible for bile transport is blocked,” said Anna

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