Creating rat hepatocyte organoid as an in vitro model for drug testing

Figure 3 Liver organoids maintain the function of hepatocytes and prolong their survival time. A: Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining, immunofluorescence staining for albumin (ALB; green), and immunohistochemical staining for Ki67. The nuclei were counterstained with DAPI (blue). Scale bars = 100 μm; B: Gene expression analysis by q-PCR. Data were normalized to hepatocytes (H group); C: Secretion of albumin was measured by ELISA on days 2, 4, 6, 8, 14, and 20; D: Urea synthesis was measured on days 2, 4, 6, 8, 14, and 20. ^aP < 0.05 vs the organoid (H+M+E group). H+M+E group: Hepatocytes and MSCs seeded on ECM-gel pre-coated plate; H+E: Hepatocytes seeded on ECM-gel pre-coated plate; H+M: Hepatocytes and MSCs seeded on ECM-gel free plate; H group: Hepatocytes seeded on ECM-gel free plate; ECM: Extracellular matrix.