Protocol for automated production of human stem cell derived liver spheres

• Main Authors: Jose Meseguer-Ripolles, Alvile Kasarinaite, Baltasar Lucendo-Villarin, David C. Hay
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-06-01
• Series: STAR Protocols
• Subjects: Metabolism; Stem Cells; Cell Differentiation; Tissue Engineering
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666166721002094

Summary: This protocol describes how to produce human liver spheres from pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatic progenitors, endothelial cells, and hepatic stellate cells. Liver spheres form by self-assembly in microwells, generating up to 73 spheres per well of a 96-well plate. This process was automated using liquid handling and pipetting systems, permitting cost-effective scale-up and reducing sphere variability. In its current form, this system provides a powerful tool to generate human liver tissue for disease modeling and drug screening.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Lucendo-Villarin et al. (2020) (https://doi.org/10.1088/1758-5090/abbdb2).