Three-dimensional culture of porcine fetal liver cells for a bioartificial liver.

A three-dimensional (3-D) culture experiment of porcine fetal liver cells (FLCs) was performed using a porous resin substrate, for the purpose of developing a bioartificial liver. A long-term 3-D culture and monolayer culture as the control were performed for more than 1 month. To promote cell growth and maturation, human oncostatin M (OSM), the human leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), or cortisol was added to the cultures, and the effect of each agent on cell proliferation and liver-specific cellular functions was investigated. The cell numbers in both the monolayer and 3-D cultures increased gradually with time, irrespective of the supplementation of the stimulating agents. In the monolayer culture, the albumin secretion of FLCs decreased rapidly, and scarce activity was detected from 2 weeks onward under all culture conditions tested. In the 3-D cultures, neither human OSM nor human LIF had any definite effect on the albumin secretion of FLCs. However, in the cultures with cortisol, albumin secretion was maintained for a considerably long period. These findings suggest that a bioartificial liver can be developed by culturing porcine FLCs with cortisol as the stimulant.