Detection and characterization of rat hepatic stellate cells in a 3-dimensional, perfused, liver bioreactor

One of the major challenges in liver research today lay in the understanding of the complex relationship between liver structure and function. The highly orchestrated events that take place in the liver to maintain homeostasis require the presence of all liver cell types. In vivo experiments offer only a snapshot of the liver, and usually involve perturbation of normal function through injury or experimental disease. The role of cell-cell interactions in maintaining normal liver function is far less understood than in pathological conditions. This may be because of the lack of methods in monitoring normal function in vivo. Culturing systems may capture pieces of the puzzle, but often capture only two cell types, and involve mediators presented to the cells in concentrations much higher than physiological values. In addition, the liver lobule contains a 3-dimensional metabolic zonation, and liver cell types comprise a heterogeneous population from the portal triad where the blood flows into the sinusoids to the central vein area where the blood flows out of the sinusoids. Liver cell types are dynamic responders to environmental cues from soluble factors to heterotypic cell interactions, to extracellular matrix proteins. Therefore, a system that serves to promote the health of all liver cell types through a 3-dimensional, perfused scaffold, and allows for self-organization of the liver cells in response to the engineered environment, would serve as a useful tool in understanding some of these complex, orchestrated events. In the research presented here, methods were developed to detect and characterize the heterogeneous population that makes up the hepatic stellate cell population inside the liver bioreactor (Griffith et. al).

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Biological Engineering Division.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Author dc:creator

• Wack, Kathryn E. (Kathryn Eilleen), 1978-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Linda G. Griffith.

• Biological Engineering Division.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/18041

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/18041