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Recent advances in human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cell-based therapies in animal models of hepatic failure have led to an increased appreciation of the need to translate the proof-of-principle concepts into more practical and feasible protocols for scale up and manufacturing of functional hepatocytes. In this study, we describe a scalable stirred-suspension bioreactor culture of functional hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) from the human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). To promote the initial differentiation of hPSCs in a carrier-free suspension stirred bioreactor into definitive endoderm, we used rapamycin for "priming" phase and activin A for induction. The cells were further differentiated into HLCs in the same system. HLCs were characterized and then purified based on their physiological function, the uptake of DiI-acetylated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) by flow cytometry without genetic manipulation or antibody labeling. The sorted cells were transplanted into the spleens of mice with acute liver injury from carbon tetrachloride. The differentiated HLCs had multiple features of primary hepatocytes, for example, the expression patterns of liver-specific marker genes, albumin secretion, urea production, collagen synthesis, indocyanin green and LDL uptake, glycogen storage, and inducible cytochrome P450 activity. They increased the survival rate, engrafted successfully into the liver, and continued to present hepatic function (i.e., albumin secretion after implantation). This amenable scaling up and outlined enrichment strategy provides a new platform for generating functional HLCs. This integrated approach may facilitate biomedical applications of the hPSC-derived hepatocytes.

Adult tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) show tremendous promise for a wide array of therapeutic applications predominantly through paracrine activity. Recent reports showed that human embryonic stem cell (ESC)-derived MSCs are an alternative for regenerative cellular therapy due to manufacturing large quantities of MSCs from a single donor. However, no study has been reported to uncover the secretome of human ESCMSCs as treatment of an acute liver failure (ALF) mouse model. We demonstrated that human ESC-MSCs showed similar morphology and cell surface markers compared with bone marrow-derived MSCs. ESC-MSCs exhibited a higher growth rate during early in vitro expansion, along with adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation potential. Treatment with ESC-MSC-conditioned medium (CM) led to statistically significant enhancement of primary hepatocyte viability and increased immunomodulatory interleukin-10 secretion from lipopolysaccharide-induced human blood mononuclear cells. Analysis of the MSCs secretome by a protein array screen showed an association between higher frequencies of secretory proteins such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and regulation of cell proliferation, cell migration, the development process, immune system process, and apoptosis. In this thioacetamide-induced mouse model of acute liver injury, we observed that systemic infusion of VEGF led to significant survival. These data have provided the first experimental evidence of the therapeutic potential of human ESC-MSC-derived molecules. These molecules show trophic support to hepatocytes, which potentially creates new avenues for the treatment of ALF, as an inflammatory condition.

In this work, the potential application of propolis wax (PW) as a novel organogelator was investigated in different oils (canola, sesame, sunflower and flaxseed oil). PW at 2% (w/w) concentration produced a thick organogel at 5, 10 and 15 °C, with needle‐like crystals, suggesting that PW is a relatively efficient structuring agent for organogel formation. The oil binding capacity of the organogel with canola oil was lower than that of the other organogels, and the gelling time of flaxseed organogel with lower oil viscosity was shorter. The X‐ray diffraction measurements of the crystals showed β′‐form crystals, with no influence of oil type. In FTIR results, no chemical intermolecular interactions that were observed indicated physical bonds in the organogel network. DSC analysis was carried out to obtain greater insight into the thermal behavior of PW organogels. No significant differences were observed. The textural properties of PW organogels were stable over 30 days of storage. Flaxseed oil organogel had the greatest firmness and stickiness. These results showed the effect of oil viscosity on PW gel behavior.