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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2008;299(1):29.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A new laboratory model developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge mimics the human liver and could be useful for screening new drugs that are potentially harmful to this organ (Khetani SR and Bhatia SN. Nat Biotechnol. doi:10.1038/nbt1361 [published online ahead of print on November 18, 2007]).

Unlike conventional cell culture, which disperses tissues into single cells, this model uses microscale tissue subunits that maintain liver functions for several weeks. The technology arranges human liver cells into tiny colonies only 500 µm in diameter.

Researchers have designed a new laboratory model that mimics the human liver. (Photo credit: Sangeeta Bhatia lab, MIT)

Cell colonies in the model exhibited liver-specific gene expression and transported and secreted liver-specific molecules. The colonies also were susceptible to hepatotoxins, a characteristic that may be useful for drug testing purposes before exposing human patients to investigational agents . . . [Full Text of this Article]