Kyushu University · Medicine
Professor Hiroyuki Ijima's research lab specializes in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, with a primary focus on developing bioartificial organs and extracellular matrix (ECM)-based scaffolds for liver support and regeneration. The lab pioneers innovative approaches using decellularized liver matrices (L-ECM) and polyurethane foam (PUF) scaffolds to culture functional spheroids of hepatocytes and other cell types, maintaining long-term liver-specific functions. Their work has led to the development of hybrid artificial liver support systems that significantly improve survival in animal models of acute liver failure, demonstrating clinical translatability. The lab also investigates the physical and biochemical properties of ECM substrates to optimize cell behavior and tissue engineering outcomes.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Spherical multicellular aggregates (spheroids) of adult rat hepatocytes were spontaneously formed in the pores of polyurethane foam (PUF) as a culture substratum. Highly differentiated functions of hepatocytes, that is, albumin secretion, urea synthesis, and drug metabolism, were maintained in the spheroid culture using PUF. These spheroids were partly attached and immobilized in the pores of PUF. Then, we designed a PUF/spheroids packed-bed module as a hybrid artificial liver and developed an a
Monkey kidney cells (Vero), human embryonic kidney cells (293), human liver cells (PLC/PRF/5), and primary rat, dog, and porcine hepatocytes formed spherical multicellular aggregates (spheroids) in the pores of polyurethane foam which was used as a cell culture substratum. These spheroids of various cell types express high cell activity for a long period. A practical hybrid artificial live support system composed of a multi-capillary polyurethane foam packed-bed type cell culture module includin
The decellularization of organs has attracted attention as a new functional methodology for regenerative medicine based on tissue engineering. In previous work we developed an L-ECM (Extracellular Matrix) as a substrate-solubilized decellularized liver and demonstrated its effectiveness as a substrate for culturing and transplantation. Importantly, the physical properties of the substrate constitute important factors that control cell behavior. In this study, we aimed to quantify the physical pr
The extracellular matrix (ECM) in a liver-specific extracellular matrix (L-ECM) scaffold facilitates hepatocyte viability and maintains hepatocyte functions <i>in vitro</i>. However, whether an intact composition of ECM is required for an efficient ECM-based substrate design remains to be clarified. In this study, two L-ECM hydrogels, namely L-ECM I and L-ECM II, were prepared by pepsin solubilization at 4 °C and 25 °C, respectively. The solubility at 4 °C was 50% whereas that at 25 °C was 95%,
The hep-col scaffold can localize several kinds of growth factors as well as stabilize bFGF under physiological temperature and is a promising potent scaffold for regenerative medicine.
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