Bioengineering scalable and drug-responsive in vitro human multicellular non-alcoholic fatty liver disease microtissues encapsulated in the liver extracellular matrix-derived hydrogel

Authors

  • Negar Asadollahi Department of Regenerative Medicine, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran; Department of Developmental Biology, University of Science and Culture, Tehran, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5041-5058
  • Mohammad Amin Hajari Department of Cell Engineering, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0615-1902
  • Mahmoud Alipour Choshali Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9901-1743
  • Mohammad Ajoudanian Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0197-5083
  • Seyed Ali Ziai Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1102-8119
  • Massoud Vosough Department of Regenerative Medicine, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran. Tel: +989121196454, E-mail: masvos@royaninstitute.org https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5924-4366
  • Abbas Piryaei Department of Biology and Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Tel: +989126971784, E-mail: piryae@sbmu.ac.ir https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3182-6214

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2023-6878

Keywords:

non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease, liver microtissue, bioengineering, drug screening, liraglutide

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a high-prevalence and progressive disorder. Due to lack of reliable in vitro models to recapitulate the consecutive phases, the exact pathogenesis mechanism of this disease and approved therapeutic medications have not been revealed yet. It has been proven that the interplay between multiple hepatic cell types and liver extracellular matrix (ECM) are critical in NAFLD initiation and progression. Herein, a liver microtissue (LMT) consisting of Huh-7, THP-1, and LX-2 cell lines and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), which could be substituted for the main hepatic cells (hepatocyte, Kupffer, stellate, and sinusoidal endothelium, respectively), encapsulated in liver derived ECM-Alginate composite, was bioengineered. When the microtissues were treated with free fatty acids (FFAs) including Oleic acid (6.6×10−4M) and Palmitic acid (3.3×10−4M), they displayed the key features of NAFLD, including similar pattern of transcripts for genes involved in lipid metabolism, inflammation, insulin-resistance, and fibrosis, as well as pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic cytokines’ secretions and intracellular lipid accumulation. Continuing FFAs supplementation, we demonstrated that the NAFLD phenomenon was established on day 3 and progressed to the initial fibrosis stage by day 8. Furthermore, this model was stable until day 12 post FFAs withdrawal on day 3. Moreover, administration of an anti-steatotic drug candidate, Liraglutide (15 μM), on the NAFLD microtissues significantly ameliorated the NAFLD phenomenon. Overall, we bioengineered a drug-responsive, cost-benefit liver microtissues which can simulate the initiation and progression of NAFLD. It is expected that this platform could potentially be used for studying molecular pathogenesis of NAFLD and high-throughput drug screening.

Published

2024-03-25

How to Cite

Asadollahi, N., Hajari, M. A., Alipour Choshali, M., Ajoudanian, M., Ziai, S. A., Vosough, M., & Piryaei, A. (2024). Bioengineering scalable and drug-responsive in vitro human multicellular non-alcoholic fatty liver disease microtissues encapsulated in the liver extracellular matrix-derived hydrogel. EXCLI Journal, 23, 421–440. https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2023-6878

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