title: Oncostatin M stimulates proliferation and functions of mouse fetal liver cells in three-dimensional cultures.
abstract: In order to develop a tissue engineered bioartificial liver (BAL), long-term three-dimensional (3-D) culture of fetal liver cells (FLCs) utilizing porous polymer as a scaffold was performed for up to 1 month. The effects of the basal medium and supplementation with oncostatin M (OSM) on the proliferation and differentiation of mouse FLCs were examined in both 3-D culture and conventional monolayer dish culture. Compared with monolayer culture, cell numbers and hepatic function of FLCs were better maintained by 3-D culture. When two kinds of basal media were tested in this study, Williams' medium E (WE) was superior to minimum essential medium alpha (alphaMEM) in expressing hepatic function of FLCs in both 3-D and monolayer cultures, although higher cell densities were obtained with alphaMEM. OSM potently stimulated both cell growth and metabolic activity, especially in 3-D culture. When WE supplemented with OSM was used for 3-D culture, albumin secretion by FLCs increased dramatically after day 5, and a high level of secretion was maintained until the end of culture. During a period of over 1 month, no decrease of albumin secretion was observed. In conclusion, this 3-D culture method was expected to be one of the realistic attempts to develop a tissue engineered BAL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ehashi
authors.forename: Hirotoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyoshi
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ohshima
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology*; D019164:Liver, Artificial; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D053683:Oncostatin M; D010455:Peptides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014508:Urea / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C508352:Osm protein, mouse; D010455:Peptides; D053683:Oncostatin M; D014508:Urea