Long-term engraftment of hepatocytes transplanted on biodegradable polymer sponges.

Hepatocyte transplantation may provide an alternative to orthotopic liver transplantation to treat liver failure. However, suitable systems to transplant hepatocytes and promote long-term engraftment must be developed. In this study, highly porous, biodegradable sponges were fabricated from poly (L-lactic acid) (PLA), and poly (DL-lacticco-glycolic acid) (PLGA), and utilized to transplant hepatocytes into the mesentery of three groups of Lewis rats. The portal vein was shunted to the inferior vena cava in one group of rats (PCS). The second group of animals received a PCS and a 70% hepatectomy on the day of sponge-hepatocyte implantation (PCS + HEP), and the control group (CON) received no surgical stimulation. The sponges were vascularized by ingrowth of fibrovascular tissue over the first 7 days in vivo. Approximately 95-99% of the implanted hepatocytes (determined utilizing computer-assisted image analysis) died in all three experimental groups during this time. The number of engrafted hepatocytes in the CON group further decreased over the next 7 days to 1.3 +/- 1.1% of the original cell number. However, the number of engrafted hepatocytes in the PCS and PCS + HEP increased over this time to 6 +/- 1% and 5 +/- 2%, respectively. The number of engrafted hepatocytes in the PCS group continued to increase over the next 2.5 months to a value of 26 +/- 12% of the initial cell number, and a large number of engrafted hepatocytes was still present at 6 months. These results indicate that stable new tissues can be engineered by transplanting hepatocytes on biodegradable sponges into heterotopic locations if appropriate stimulation is provided.

Localized delivery of epidermal growth factor improves the survival of transplanted hepatocytes.

Hepatocyte transplantation may provide a new approach for treating a variety of liver diseases if a sufficient number of the transplanted cells survive over an extended time period. In this report, we describe a technique to deliver growth factors to transplanted hepatocytes to improve their engraftment. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) was incorporated (0.11%) into microspheres (19 +/- 12 mum) fabricated from a copolymer of lactic and glycolic acid using a double emulsion technique. The incorporated EGF was steadily released over 1 month in vitro, and it remained biologically active, as determined by its ability to stimulate DNA synthesis, cell division, and long-term survival of cultured hepatocytes. EGF-containing microspheres were mixed with a suspension of hepatocytes, seeded onto porous sponges, and implanted into the mesentery of two groups of Lewis rats. The first group of animals had their portal vein shunted to the inferior vena cava prior to cell transplantation (portal-caval shunt = PCS), and the second group of animals did not (non-PCS). This surgical procedure improves the survival of transplanted hepatocytes. The engraftment of transplanted hepatocytes in PCS animals was increased two-fold by adding EGF microspheres, as compared to adding control microspheres that contained no growth factors. Devices implanted into non-PCS animals had fewer engrafted hepatocytes than devices implanted into PCS animals, regardless of whether blank or EGF-containing microspheres were added. These results first indicate that it is possible to design systems which can alter the microenvironment of transplanted hepatocytes to improve their engraftment. They also suggest that hepatocyte engraftment is not improved by providing single growth factors unless the correct environment (PCS) is provided for the transplanted cells. (c) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.