The cell types chosen in this project will be of human origin. We will employ induced pluripotent stem cells, find techniques to expand them to large numbers and find efficient differentiation methods. The use of human cells minimizes reject problems and other adverse effects. The hIPS are chosen because, in the future, patients own cells can be source for building the artificial liver. hIPS are made from human adult cells and there are therefore no ethical problems with using such cells. An issue not addressed in this project is to find methods to make hIPS cells without reprogramming them genetically. We will convert these hIPS cells to some of the cell types in the liver.
Projects related to this is the project "Development of culture conditions for a functional bioartificial liver" performed by Postdoc Mette Hemmingsen at DTU Nanotech.