TY - JOUR A2 - Iop, Laura AU - Montanari, Elisa AU - Pimenta, Joel AU - Szabó, Luca AU - Noverraz, François AU - Passemard, Solène AU - Meier, Raphael P. H. AU - Meyer, Jeremy AU - Sidibe, Jonathan AU - Thomas, Aurelien AU - Schuurman, Henk-Jan AU - Gerber-Lemaire, Sandrine AU - Gonelle-Gispert, Carmen AU - Buhler, Leo H. PY - 2018 DA - 2018/01/11 TI - Beneficial Effects of Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells on Porcine Hepatocyte Viability and Albumin Secretion SP - 1078547 VL - 2018 AB - Porcine hepatocytes transplanted during acute liver failure might support metabolic functions until the diseased liver recovers its function. Here, we isolated high numbers of viable pig hepatocytes and evaluated hepatocyte functionality after encapsulation. We further investigated whether coculture and coencapsulation of hepatocytes with human multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are beneficial on hepatocyte function. Livers from 10 kg pigs (n=9) were harvested, and hepatocytes were isolated from liver suspensions for microencapsulation using alginate and poly(ethylene-glycol)- (PEG-) grafted alginate hydrogels, either alone or in combination with MSC. Viability, albumin secretion, and diazepam catabolism of hepatocytes were measured for one week. 9.2 ± 3.6 × 109 hepatocytes with 95.2 ± 3.1% viability were obtained after isolation. At day 3, free hepatocytes displayed 99% viability, whereas microencapsulation in alginate and PEG-grafted alginate decreased viability to 62% and 48%, respectively. Albumin secretion and diazepam catabolism occurred in free and microencapsulated hepatocytes. Coencapsulation of hepatocytes with MSC significantly improved viability and albumin secretion at days 4 and 8 (p<0.05). Coculture with MSC significantly increased and prolonged albumin secretion. In conclusion, we established a protocol for isolation and microencapsulation of high numbers of viable pig hepatocytes and demonstrated that the presence of MSC is beneficial for the viability and function of porcine hepatocytes. SN - 2314-8861 UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/1078547 DO - 10.1155/2018/1078547 JF - Journal of Immunology Research PB - Hindawi KW - ER -