A hepatocyte spheroid bioassay system for drug discovery

描述（申请人提供）：肝脏是代谢外源性药物的最重要器官。肝细胞常用于检测药物代谢和肝毒性。培养的肝细胞可以形成球状体，表现出更高的肝脏特异性功能，并在培养中保持较高的活力。本研究拟发展

Description (provided by applicant): The liver is the most important organ in metabolizing xenobiotics and drugs. Liver cells (hepatocytes) are used frequently in testing drug metabolism and hepatotoxicity. Hepatocytes in culture can form spheroids that exhibit higher liver-specific functions and sustain high viability longer in culture. This proposed research is to develop an integrated system employing hepatocyte spheroids for both screening purposes and for metabolic studies. In phase I studies, we will develop a high throughput screening system suitable for integration with a miniaturized bioartificial liver for such studies. We will also demonstrate genetic metabolic engineering of hepatocyte spheroids. The analysis of the results will be facilitated by the use of a cDNA microarray immobilized with most relevant DNA sequences. The proposed work will fill a critical need for bioassay systems for high throughput screening. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: This project will develop an integrated bioassay system using hepatocytes. It will greatly facilitate high throughput screening.