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Semin Liver Dis 2021; 41(01): 019-027
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1719176
Review Article

Organoids for the Study of Liver Cancer

Haichuan Wang
1   Department of Liver Surgery, Liver Transplantation Division, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
2   Laboratory of Liver Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
3   Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences and Liver Center, University of California, San Francisco, California
,
Diego F. Calvisi
4   Institute of Pathology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
,
Xin Chen
3   Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences and Liver Center, University of California, San Francisco, California
› Author Affiliations Funding This study is supported by grants from the National Institute of Health (P30DK026743, R01CA190606, R01CA239251) and West China Hospital, Sichuan University Post-Doctoral Research Project (2020HXBH006).
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Abstract

Liver cancer is the second most lethal malignancy worldwide. Cell lines and murine models are the most common tools for modeling human liver carcinogenesis. Most recently, organoids with a three-dimensional structure derived from primary tissues or cells have been applied to liver cancer research. Organoids can be generated from induced pluripotent stem cells, embryonic or adult, healthy or diseased tissues. In particular, liver organoids have been widely employed in mechanistic studies aimed at delineating the molecular pathways responsible for hepatocarcinogenesis. The introduction of clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated protein 9 (Cas9) and microengineered miniorganoid technologies into liver organoids for cancer study has significantly accelerated these investigations. Translational advances have been made by utilizing liver tumor organoids for anticancer drug screening, biobanking, omics profiling, and biomarker discovery. This review summarizes the latest advances and the remaining challenges in the use of organoid models for the study of liver cancer.

Keywords

organoids - primary liver cancer - basic research - translational science


Publication History

Article published online:
09 February 2021

© 2021. Thieme. All rights reserved.

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