Provided are compositions related to HSD17B13 variants, including nucleic acid molecules and polypeptides related to variants of HSD17B13, and cells comprising those nucleic acid molecules and polypeptides. Also provided are methods related to HSD17B13 variants. Such methods include methods for detecting the presence of the HSD17B13 rs72613567 variant in a biological sample comprising genomic DNA, for detecting the presence or levels of any one of variant HSD17B13 Transcripts C, D, E, F, G, and H, and particularly D, in a biological sample comprising mRNA or cDNA, or for detecting the presence or levels of any one of variant HSD17B13 protein Isoforms C, D, E, F, G, or H, and particularly D, in a biological sample comprising protein. Also provided are methods for determining a subject's susceptibility to developing a liver disease or of diagnosing a subject with liver disease.

The present disclosure relates generally to methods for using pexidartinib and related Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), while reducing the occurrence of hepatotoxic adverse events.

An in vitro cell culture substrate is disclosed. The substrate comprises a decellularized tissue-specific extracellular matrix, wherein the tissue-specific extracellular matrix is derived from fibrotic tissue. A method of method of assessing an in vitro fibrotic cell culture is also disclosed. The method comprises providing one or more substrates comprising decellularized tissue-specific extracellular matrix derived from fibrotic tissue, where each substrate is provided in segregated manner. The method further comprises culturing native cells in each substrate to form a fibrotic cell culture. The method further comprises assessing at least one characteristic of each fibrotic cell culture.

A method is provided to measure modulation of bile salt 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, proteins, peptides, DNA, RNA. Furthermore, the method is to determine modulation of bile salt export transport and/or formation activity not only by said test agents, but further their metabolites or bio transformed products formed in situ. The bile salt export transport and/or formation activity modulation includes but not limited to inhibition, induction, activation and/or regulation. The method can be practiced to identify test agents, which have potential to cause liver injury, drug-drug interactions, and/or can be used as therapeutic agents for the treatment of cholestasis, abnormality of bile salt metabolism, liver diseases and cholesterol abnormality.

In vitro methods and kits for modulating and studying mechanical movement of hepatic bile canaliculi lumen through activation or inhibition of the Rho-kinase molecular regulation pathway. In vitro methods and kits for modulating lumen opening and clearing using matrix metalloproteinases, as well as diagnostic methods based upon the same.

The present invention is drawn to the generation of micropatterns of biomolecules and cells on standard laboratory materials through selective ablation of a physisorbed biomolecule with oxygen plasma. In certain embodiments, oxygen plasma is able to ablate selectively physisorbed layers of biomolecules (e.g., type-I collagen, fibronectin, laminin, and Matrigel) along complex non-linear paths which are difficult or impossible to pattern using alternative methods. In addition, certain embodiments of the present invention relate to the micropatterning of multiple cell types on curved surfaces, multiwell plates, and flat bottom flasks. The invention also features kits for use with the subject methods.

Disclosed are methods of differentiating stem cells in order to obtain hepatocyte-like cells, the method comprising the steps of a) subjecting definitive endoderm to at least one epigenetic modulator to obtain hepatoblasts and b) subjecting the hepatoblasts to at least one stem cell differentiation pathway inhibitor to obtain hepatocyte-like cells; wherein steps a) and b) do not comprise the use of a growth factor. In one preferred embodiment, the epigenetic modulator may be sodium butyrate and/or DMSO and the stem cell differentiation pathway inhibitor may be SB431542 and/or DMSO. Also disclosed are hepatocyte-like cells obtained from the method and uses of these cells such as drug screening.

Methods of generating organoids on multi-well plates are provided by depositing a polymeric solution comprising cells under conditions which result in a homogenous population of organoids, which can be used for high throughput analysis for drug screening and for determining treatment regimens of a drug.

Provided herein are methods of making and using a number of different types of liver cells.

The present disclosure provides methods for generating an in vitro model of cholestatic liver disease and uses of the same. In some embodiments, the methods involve an in vitro culture system for producing hepatocyte-like cells from pluripotent stem cells.