Challenges and perspectives of liver tissue engineering: From cell therapy to bioprinting

Abstract

Liver tissue engineering offers a remarkable tool for toxicological screening and an approach to disease modeling, and provides an alternative solution to liver transplantation in treating end-stage liver diseases. As the liver is a highly specialized multicellular organ, distinctive features such as diversity of cell types, extracellular matrix composition, and three-dimensional architecture must be taken into consideration in recapitulating its physiology. Here, we review the current developments in liver tissue engineering approaches, focusing on their application to liver disease modeling and treatment, with special emphasis on bioprinting for high-throughput analysis. We also discuss the challenges encountered and the likely future developments in the area.