Speaker:
Title:
Toward Building Liver: Exploring the Role of Cell-cell Interactions in Hepatic Ensembles
Abstract:
Cell-based therapy for fatal liver disease is limited by an incomplete understanding of cell-cell interactions. Our lab has shown that hydrogel biomaterial-embedded hepatocyte-fibroblast aggregate co-cultures can maintain liver phenotype in vitro and support regeneration in vivo. However, full recapitulation of liver phenotype requires a kinetic appreciation for engineered cell-cell interactions. Toward this end, this work aims to develop a tool for probing dynamic cell-cell interactions in 3D engineered tissue constructs.