MIBE Seminar: Modelling liver complexity with organoids

Titel: Modelling liver complexity with organoids

Sprecherin: Prof. Anna Dowbaj (Dowbaj Group)

Datum und Uhrzeit: Dienstag, 08. Juli 2025, 13:00 Uhr

Abstract: Organoids are 3D structures grown from stem cells embedded in extracellular matrix, and consisting of organ-specific cell types that self-organize into one structure. For the liver, the epithelial cell organoids from adult tissue hepatocytes or cholangiocytes have been derived, but they lacked cell complexity and the stem cell niche – supporting cells from immune, endothelium and mesenchymal compartments. We developed next-generation organoid models, which incorporate one of the previously missing components – the mesenchymal cells. Organoids containing more cell types led to better recapitulation of complex liver architecture in a dish, which now allow more precise modelling of homeostasis and liver disease in vitro. The most recent study has recently been published in Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09183-9.