Lonza Verified for Spheroids Human Hepatocytes

Lonza has expanded its hepatocytes portfolio characterisation with the addition of Verified for Spheroids Human Hepatocytes, which are pre-screened for their ability to promote rapid spheroid formation in cell culture. Researchers working in toxicology, disease modelling and DMPK studies will find the hepatocytes suitable for their spheroid and other 3D culture platforms.

Physiologically relevant in vitro liver model systems play a crucial role in the success of toxicology, disease modelling and DMPK studies. Conventional 2D hepatocyte cultures offer good short-term models, but they tend to rapidly lose typical hepatocyte functionality, which makes them unsuitable for longer-term studies.

To address this challenge, self-assembling liver spheroids generated from primary human hepatocytes (PHH) are increasingly employed. These spheroids exhibit in vivo-like cell organisation, improve the predictability of known clinical liver toxicants and preserve the viability and functionality of the hepatocytes. However, not all currently available hepatocyte donor batches are capable of forming spheroids in culture.

Lonza’s pre-screening process ensures that its hepatocytes are suitable for the user’s needs, with the company having recently analysed and optimised the formation, culture and performance of PHH in different spheroid culture systems. The study also compared metabolic function and viability of the spheroids over 28 days in culture. Primary human hepatocyte spheroids were rapidly generated that exhibited the ability to support liver metabolic function during long-term exposure and repeated dosing toxicology studies.