Provided is application of ECM1 in the prevention and/or treatment of liver fibrosis-related diseases, specifically provided is the use of ECM1 gene, or protein or a promoter thereof for preparing a composition or a formulation, the composition or formulation being used for (a) preventing and/or treating of liver fibrosis-related diseases; and/or for (b) maintaining liver homeostasis. The ECM1 gene, or the protein or promoter thereof can significantly (i) prevent and/or treat cirrhosis-related diseases; and/or (ii) maintain the liver homeostasis. In addition, the ECM1 gene, or the protein or promoter thereof can also significantly (i) inhibit the occurrence of liver fibrosis-related diseases; and/or (ii) inhibit the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs).

Methods and devices to screen test compounds, e.g., study metabolism of test compounds, e.g., a pro-drug, by one cell, e.g., a hepatocyte, and the effect of metabolism of the test compound by the first cell on a second cell, e.g., a cancer cell, are described.

Identification of urokinase-type plasminogen, matrix metalloproteinase 9, and β-2-microglobulin as novel biomarkers associated with liver fibrosis and uses thereof in diagnosing liver fibrosis.

Microfluidic devices for modeling three-dimensional tissue structures and methods for making and using the same are described herein.

A method of treating liver-based inborn, metabolic deficiencies is disclosed by treatment of an individual, such as a patient suffering from liver-based inborn, metabolic deficiencies, with human progenitor or stem cells, a cell population or their progeny. The cells used in the treatment have the following characteristics. They are positive for vimentin, α-smooth muscle actin (ASMA), and for at least one mesenchymal marker such as CD90, CD29, CD73, and CD44. They are positive for at least one hepatocyte marker such as albumin, alpha-fetoprotein, alpha-1 antitrypsin, HNF-4 and MRP2 transporter. They express at least one hepatocyte-like property or function such as G6P, CYP1B1, CYP3A4, TDO, TAT, GS, GGT, CK8, and EAAT2. They are negative for at least one marker such as cytokeratin-19, CD45, CD34, CD49f, CD133, HLA-DR, and CD117. They have mesenchymal-like morphology. They originate from human adult liver cells.

A method is provided to measure modulation of phosphatidylcholine export transport and/or formation activity in hepatocyte or stable cell-line preparations by test agents including but not limited to drugs, drug candidates, biologicals, food components, herb or plant components, amino acids, peptides, proteins, oligonucleotides, DNA, and RNA. Furthermore, the method is designed to determine modulation of phosphatidylcholine transport and/or formation activity not only by said test agents, but also their metabolites or biotransformation products formed in situ.

A microfluidic device, method and kit for assaying and/or culturing cells are provided. The microfluidic device comprises a well block comprising a plurality of microwells; at least one cell culture layer selected from a first cell culture layer comprising a plurality of microchannels, each microchannel being aligned with one of the plurality of microwells and being in fluid communication with the aligned microwells; and a second cell culture layer comprising a plurality of cell culture chamber wells, each cell culture chamber well being aligned with one of the plurality of microwells and being in fluid communication with the aligned microwells, and a plurality of outlets, each of the plurality of outlets corresponding to one of the plurality of cell culture chamber wells; and a base block, wherein the at least one cell culture layer is sealably coupled between the well block and the base block, thereby allowing fluid communication between the plurality of microwells in the well block and the at least one cell culture layer.

The present invention provides a culture method of cells and/or tissues including culturing cells and/or tissues in a suspended state by using a medium composition wherein indeterminate structures are formed in a liquid medium, the structures are uniformly dispersed in the solution and substantially retain the cells and/or tissues without substantially increasing the viscosity of the solution, thus affording an effect of preventing sedimentation thereof, and the like

The present invention relates to expandable liver organoids, a medium composition for differentiation thereof, and a method for producing liver organoids using the same, and the liver organoids according to the present invention exhibit the characteristics of more mature hepatocytes than 2D differentiated hepatocytes, can be subcultured up to 90 times or more, and exhibit the expandability for maintaining the characteristics of mature hepatocytes even after multiple subcultures, and thus can be usefully utilized for predicting toxicity, regeneration, and inflammatory response, drug screening, and modeling of diseases such as hepatic steatosis.

A cell culture device comprising a microscale chamber dimensioned to maintain a cell under conditions that give rise to a value for at least one pharmacokinetic parameter in vitro that is comparable to a value for the same at least one pharmacokinetic parameter obtained with respect to the same type of cell in vivo, wherein the microscale chamber is configured for flow of culture medium, and wherein the at least one pharmacokinetic parameter is selected from tissue size ratio, tissue to blood volume ratio, drug residence time, flow rate, circulatory transit time, liquid residence time, and liquid to cell ratio.