Organ Culture Model of Liver for the Study of Cancer Treatment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract: The liver, the largest organ of the human body, is a multifunctional organ with various metabolic activities that plays a fundamental role in maintaining the body and in sustaining life. Although the liver has great regenerative capacity and recovery, the damage caused by chronic diseases such as cancer or viral infections can lead to permanent loss of liver function. Studies on the mechanism of liver disease, have focused on the selection of cell and tissue culture techniques, including strategies based on in vitro models. The organ culture is a promising tool for the study of liver diseases, because it can mimic the complex of the microenvironment in vivo using a three-dimensional model of human liver tissue. These models allow a better study of the specific functions of the liver. In this context, we have analyzed the development of a hepatocarcinoma, obtained by inoculating a murine hepatocarcinoma cell line, Hepa 1/A1s, in the liver of 10 mice of the strain C57BL / 6. After 20 days from the inoculation, the portion of liver invaded by the tumor was removed from the animals and cultured. A group of 5 liver explants were used as a control and other 5 explants were cultured for 4 weeks in a complete medium containing 10% Citozym, a food supplement with reported antioxidant properties. The cancer-invaded hepatic lobes, treated with Citozym, showed a clear reduction of the weight and the volume of the hepatic tumors, when compared with the control explants