Reconstruction of hepatic organoid by hepatic stem cells.

Recent advances in culture methods, stem cell research, and tissue engineering provide clues for making tissues in vitro that are functionally and structurally similar to hepatic tissues. To reconstruct hepatic organoids, two approaches to establish the methods have been proposed: the use of cells and the combination of cells and a scaffold (called tissue engineering). Recently, the coculture of hepatic cells (mature hepatocytes, small hepatocytes, hepatoblasts) and hepatic nonparenchymal cells has been reported to form hepatic organoids that possess differentiated hepatic functions. On the other hand, hepatocytes in a roller bottle were shown to form specific structures, consisting of biliary epithelial cells, connective tissue, mature hepatocytes, and endothelial cells. In this review, the studies of hepatic tissue formation in vitro will be summarized.