Concise Review: Organoids Are a Powerful Tool for the Study of Liver Disease and Personalized Treatment Design in Humans and Animals

Abstract

: Organoids are three-dimensional culture systems in which adult stem cells and their progeny grow and represent the native physiology of the cells in vivo. Organoids have been successfully derived from several organ systems in both animal models and human patients. Organoids have been used for fundamental research, disease modeling, drug testing, and transplantation. In this review, we summarize the applications of liver-derived organoids and discuss their potential. It is likely that organoids will provide an invaluable tool to unravel disease mechanisms, design novel (personalized) treatment strategies, and generate autologous stem cells for gene editing and transplantation purposes. SIGNIFICANCE: Organoids derived from the liver have hepatocellular differentiation potential and can be an unlimited source for hepatocytes for application in in vitro toxicology testing and for transplantation purposes as an alternative to orthotopic liver transplantation. The in vitro representation of the native physiology and epigenetic background of the adult liver stem cells makes the organoid technology an excellent tool to study and model liver diseases, for drug screening, and for the design of personalized treatments. This review summarizes the applications of liver organoids and discusses their potential in the study and modeling of liver diseases, and in the development and testing of novel drugs.