A refined method of adult tissue resident stem cell derived primary human hepatic organoid cultures

Fiona Clegg, Dawn Thompson, Mairi H. McLean, Graeme Murray, Mirela Delibegovic

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract


Introduction: Organoid models have created a huge amount of interest in the last decade as a more realistic model of human cells compared to animal models and immortalised cell lines. Their regenerative abilities, persisting following cryopreservation, makes them more reliable to work with than primary cells which have short culture lives and unpredictable supply. Here we discuss our protocol, based on Broutier et al. 2016, which generates hepatic organoids from adult stem cells (ASC) resident in liver tissue reliably, in a shorter initial experiment length, and using readily available laboratory equipment.

Methods: Fresh human liver tissue, surplus to diagnostic requirement, was accessed through Grampian Biorepository (ethics number TR 00161). Tissue approximately 1cm3 in size was stored at 4°C in DPBS, typically overnight, before physical and enzymatic digestion using a gentleMACS™ Octo Dissociator with heaters for 25 minutes. The single cell suspension generated can then be filtered and hepatocyte fragment, including ASCs, isolated using graded centrifugation. The final pellet, 30–40 µl, was mixed with 180 µl of Matrigel® and 15 µl seeded per well in a 24 well plate. Specialised growth factor rich medium promoted ASC proliferation and suppressed other cell types growth, specifically fibroblasts.

Results: Single cell isolation and seeding time was reduced to 2.5–3 hours from 6 hours. After 7–14 days spheroid cultures would be visible and non-proliferative cells died. These cultures can be passaged, cryopreserved and thawed with no consequence. Terminal differentiation using a specific growth factor rich medium occurred after 4 days, with loss of immature and expression of mature hepatocyte markers.

Conclusions: This method describes an update to previously published protocols, which uses readily available laboratory equipment and shorter experiment time, increasing accessibility to this culture model.

Reference

Broutier, L., Andersson-Rolf, A., Hindley, C. et al. Culture and establishment of self-renewing human and mouse adult liver and pancreas 3D organoids and their genetic manipulation. Nat Protoc 2016;11:1724–1743. https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2016.097
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)A60
Number of pages1
JournalGut
Volume72
Issue numberSuppl. 2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Mar 2024

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