Gibco Human Spheroid-Qualified Hepatocytes

NEWOverview of the cell lines, culture conditions, and analysis techniques that are being used in the transition from 2D to 3D cell models in the 3D Cell Culture & Analysis Handbook.

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NEWHave fun with mazes, lab awards, a word search, and more in the 3D Cell Culture & Analysis Activity Booklet.

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• Improved culture longevity—up to 21 days, that’s more than 4x longer than traditional 2D monolayer culture
• Design your own schedule—cells are ready for plating when you are
• Interrogate pathways of interest—applicable for toxicity, metabolism, or disease modeling
   

In addition to the longevity benefit, Gibco hepatocytes maintained as spheroids demonstrate superior function, as demonstrated by increases in:

• Albumin protein production
• CYP3A4 enzyme activity
• CYP3A4 gene expression
• Albumin gene expression

Researchers have found that hepatocytes cultured in 3D are more sensitive to toxic compounds such as rosuvastatin and troglitazone.¹ A separate publication reported that primary human hepatic spheroids were an effective model for studying liver fibrosis.²
 

Figure 1. Workflow of assembly and characterization of primary hepatocytes in 3D spheroid culture. (A) Spheroids were imaged in phase at 10x magnification. These images show spheroid formation by day 5 of culture. To learn more about Gibco Human Spheroid-Qualified Hepatocytes, see the product page that includes the user guide.

Our Gibco 3D spheroid–qualified human hepatocytes have been characterized to show stable morphology, viability, and hepatocyte-specific functions for at least 3 weeks. Learn more about how to get started today with our Hepatic growth and liver function guide and app note

• Using Gibco 3D hepatic spheroid to enable Gene Expression more efficiently that 2d hepatic cultures
• Utility of using Gibco 3D hepatic spheroid models for studying Drug metabolism

• 3D Hepatic Animal Spheroid Function
• Using HepaRG in 3D workflow
• 3D Hepatic Spheroid Models
• 3D spheroids from primary hepatocytes 
• Co-culture of primary hepatic stellate cells in modeling of liver in 2D and 3D 
• Primary human hepatocyte 3D spheroids for studying hepatic function and drug toxicity 

Human hepatic stellate cells (HSC) are the major contributor to collagen deposition following liver damage, where hepatic stellate cells activate to a phenotype characterized by increased proliferation, motility, contractility, and synthesis of extracellular matrix components that result in progressive liver fibrosis. Activated HSCs are ideal for building hepatic co-cultures with primary hepatocytes to for in vitro study of diseases such as fibrosis.

***The cells are obtained from a single donor and provided in a cryopreserved format identical to single donor plateable hepatocytes

Important! For best results, review our application note on 3D Hepatic culture and liver function, using the Gibco and Thermo Fisher Scientific suite of products. Hepatocyte lots have been qualified in Nunclon Sphera plates only, and use of other plates can lead to variability in spheroid formation.

1. Proctor WR, Foster AJ, Vogt J, et al. (2017) Utility of spherical human liver microtissues for prediction of clinical drug-induced liver injury. Arch Toxicol 91: 2849-2963. DOI: 10.1007/s00204-017-2002-1
2. Kozyra M, Johansson I, Nordling A, et al. (2018) Human hepatic 3D spheroids as a model for steatosis and insulin resistance. Sci Rep 8:14297. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32722-6