{"id":11953,"date":"2025-03-11T16:54:57","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T16:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/?p=11953"},"modified":"2025-04-22T19:23:47","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T18:23:47","slug":"grow-your-own-mini-liver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/2025\/03\/11\/grow-your-own-mini-liver\/","title":{"rendered":"Grow your own Mini Liver"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Significance of Tissue Engineering<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whilst protheses are a good mechanism to improve patient quality of life and aid daily function, there remain limitations in which they may not fulfil the needs of the patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They can only provide limited forms of support, meaning they are not appropriate for use with many medical issues<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Requires replacement on a timely basis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Body often rejects them due to foreign material<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Living biological materials may be better suited to meet medical needs &#8211; introducing the need for tissue engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following discussion on the limits of prosthesis, I thought about what biological materials would be structured for longevity in the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Regenerative Nature of the Liver<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The liver is the only organ which can regenerate damaged tissue &#8211; the organ has the ability to regrow around two thirds of the healthy cells. In line with this, reading led to me an ongoing trial which acts to use the regenerative nature of liver cells in order to help those suffering from end-stage liver disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Growing Mini Livers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The emerging medical experimental treatment is titled \u201c<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/clinicaltrials.gov\/study\/NCT04496479\">Allogenic Hepatocyte Transplantation Into Periduodenal Lymph Nodes<\/a>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This entails the use of <strong>Hepatocytes<\/strong>, the cells which make up the majority of the liver, which are also  <strong>allogenic cells<\/strong>, which are sourced from human tissue donors. Using these to try to successfully create an engraftment into the lymph nodes essentially aims to <strong>create functioning mini livers<\/strong> in the body!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The purpose of the trial is to help patients diagnosed with end-stage liver disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>main objectives<\/strong> of the trial are listed as: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignfull has-text-color has-background is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-luminous-vivid-amber-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6b66bf1169b7852bb1d5fc923010bc23\" style=\"font-size:24px;line-height:1.3\"><em>Dosage<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Confirming the optimal dose of hepatocytes for the engraftment<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-luminous-vivid-amber-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-77e6028775717815889a14840eb8b741\" style=\"font-size:24px;line-height:1.3\"><em>Safety<\/em> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ensuring the transplantation  is safe in the case of any adverse effects<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2b360565e55c18a5b3990c31a6bd4de8 is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left has-luminous-vivid-amber-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1be58bf197c212df57e4e6797252cf5c\" style=\"font-size:24px;line-height:1.3\"><em>Efficiency<\/em> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Confirming the engraftments are reducing symptoms of end-stage liver disease<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Should we grow Mini Livers?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It is likely that participants will have to take immunosuppressants, as they would for other transplants, to help reduce chance of rejection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think that despite the participants potentially having to alter their lifestyle, if the trial is successful than benefits of the treatment would outweigh potential side effects. As end-stage liver disease can cause decreased life expectancy, treatment which counters this should be approached positively. I also believe the treatment would be significant because:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There is a shortage of liver transplants so treatment may not be feasible <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increasing liver mass through the transplantation of hepatocyte may be notably beneficial to those with end-stage liver disease<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-center has-background\" style=\"background:linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(253,221,147) 100%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);grid-template-columns:45% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"254\" src=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/graph-1.jpg\" alt=\"Graph showing the exponential rise of mortality in the population for liver disease, in comparison to other major disease which have plateued.\" class=\"wp-image-11972 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/graph-1.jpg 320w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/graph-1-300x238.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\" style=\"padding-top:2em;padding-right:2em;padding-bottom:2em;padding-left:2em\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-medium-font-size\" style=\"line-height:1.2\"><em>Liver disease is <strong>the only major disease<\/strong> in which mortality rates are <strong>rapidly increasing<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Figure 1: The increase in mortality rates of major diseases<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em>Available at: [<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alcoholpolicy.net\/2014\/10\/liver-disease-profiles-highlight-alcohols-role-in-premature-deaths.html\">https:\/\/www.alcoholpolicy.net\/2014\/10\/liver-disease-profiles-highlight-alcohols-role-in-premature-deaths.html<\/a><em>] (Accessed: 10\/03\/25)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I think this trial is significant due to the provision it seeks to give for a widening gap between life expectancy in comparison to other diseases. Whilst many other major diseases have shown decreases in mortality, liver disease has worsened rather than improved alongside other medical advances. I believe the <strong>implementation of new treatments is essential to address the imbalance between fatalities of liver disease<\/strong> in comparison to others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, the idea of being able to have lots of mini livers is fascinating!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Significance of Tissue Engineering Whilst protheses are a good mechanism to improve patient quality of life and aid daily function, there remain limitations in which they may not fulfil the needs of the patient. Living biological materials may be better suited to meet medical needs &#8211; introducing the need for tissue engineering. Following discussion on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6834,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"[]"},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-practice-blogs"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6834"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11953"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12174,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11953\/revisions\/12174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}