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Tonsil stem cells investigated as nonsurgical repair for liver disease

Tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells, used in combination with a heating solution, produced a 3D growth factor system designed to repair liver damage without surgery in a recent study.

South Korean researchers created a cell-encapsulated 3D matrix by combining tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells (TMSC) and poly (ethylene glycol)-beta-poly (L-alanine) (PEG-L-PA) aqueous solution. The mixture was heated to 37 degrees Celsius and turned to gel, similar to decellularized liver tissue. The gel’s cell proliferation, morphology, hepatogenic biomarker expressions and hepatocyte-specific biofunctions were analyzed. All were “compared for the following 3D culture systems: TMSC-encapsulated thermogels in the absence of hepatogenic growth factors (GF; protocol M), TMSC-encapsulated thermogels where hepatogenic GF were supplied from the medium (protocol MGF) and TMSC-encapsulated thermogels where hepatogenic GF were coencapsulated with TMSC during the solution-to-gel transition (protocol GGF),” the researchers wrote.

Spherical morphology and cell size were preserved in the M system during the 28-day culture period, but hepatocyte-specific biomarker expressions and metabolic functions were insignificant for the M system, according to data. Hepatogenic genes of albumin and cytokeratin 18 and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha were accurately expressed in the MGF and GGF systems, as well as albumin and alpha-fetoprotein production.

Metabolic functions such as uptake of cardiogreen (CG) and low-density lipoprotein by the cells also underwent assay for the three protocols. Uptake in both were observed in the MGF and GGF protocols, but not protocol M. The uptake could signify that the TMSC in the PEG-L-PA thermogels turned into functioning hepatocytes among growth factors, according to the research.

“The successful results of the GGF system suggest that the PEG-L-PA thermogel can be a promising injectable tissue engineering system for liver tissue regeneration after optimizing the aqueous formulation of TMSC, hepatogenic growth factors and other biochemicals,” the researchers wrote.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.