In vitro primary hepatocyte proliferation with nonparenchymal liver cell activation

The construction of a tissue engineered liver requires the ready availability of an immunocompatible cell source capable of replacing lost physiological functions. Primary autologous hepatocytes would be an ideal choice for such a device; however, it is not yet known how to induce proliferation of these cells in vitro. We investigated the effect of culture medium containing known liver regeneration factors (HGF, EGF, VEGF, IL-6) pre-conditioned by culture with nonparenchymal cells (NPCs) on the proliferation of primary hepatocytes in collagen sandwich culture. Morphological evidence indicated an increase in the density of hepatocytes when supplemented with proliferation factor-conditioned NPC media.