# Recellularization of Liver Bioscaffolds

> **NIH NIH R01** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2020 · $395,414

## Abstract

Abstract
About thirty million people in the US have some type of liver disorder, and about 27,000 deaths are registered
annually due to liver disease. At this time, the only definitive treatment of hepatic failure is orthotopic
transplantation. However, there is a critical shortage of organs with a continual deficit of >4,000 livers per year.
Given that only organs in pristine condition are transplantable, orthotopic transplantation will always remain a
limited pool. Recent advances in tissue engineering through the use of decellularized liver scaffolds have
opened the possibility that engineered liver grafts could be used as substitutes for donor livers, potentially
addressing the shortage of organs available for transplantation. However, the road to clinical translation is
expected to be long due to the wide range of functions the engineered liver is required to capture, for example,
those represented by the biliary system have been neglected thus far. Furthermore, long term transplantation
of engineered liver grafts has not been successful due to thrombogenicity of the recellularized grafts. We plan
to engineer transplantable liver grafts for treating liver dysfunction and failure through the completion of the
following specific aims 1) Enhance endothelialization efficiency of rat liver grafts, 2) Repopulate bile ducts of rat
livers and 3) Develop a liver graft that functions in vivo. The work described here is expected to result in the
next generation engineered liver grafts incorporating parenchymal and non-parenchymal components to
provide auxiliary hepatic support.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10005035
- **Project number:** 5R01DK084053-10
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Basak Elif Uygun
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $395,414
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2009-09-05 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10005035

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10005035, Recellularization of Liver Bioscaffolds (5R01DK084053-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10005035. Licensed CC0.

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