Patient-derived mini-livers and microchips to understand medicine-related liver injury
Modeling Drug Induced Liver Injury with Patient-Derived Liver Organoids and Microfluidic Chips
This project uses tiny lab-grown human livers made from patients who had drug-related liver injury, placed on microchips to help predict which medicines might harm the liver.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Michigan at Ann Arbor NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ann Arbor, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11376304 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will create liver organoids from patient cells (turned into stem cells) so each mini-liver reflects the donor's biology. These patient-derived organoids will be combined with microfluidic organ-on-chip devices that mimic blood flow and drug exposure. The team will test drugs and supplements on these systems to spot patterns and biomarkers linked to liver injury without relying on animal models. Samples and clinical data will come from a well-characterized biobank of DILIN patients and the platform will be scaled to improve prediction of drug-induced liver injury.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are people who have experienced liver injury from a medicine or supplement and can provide medical records, blood or skin samples, or join the existing DILIN biobank.
Not a fit: People whose liver problems are not related to medicines or supplements, or people with no history of liver injury, are less likely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help doctors and drug makers predict and prevent drug-induced liver injury, leading to safer medicines and fewer unexpected liver failures.
How similar studies have performed: Organoid and organ-on-chip methods have shown promise for drug-toxicity testing, but combining patient-derived liver organoids with microfluidics for personalized DILI prediction is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
Ann Arbor, United States
- University of Michigan at Ann Arbor — Ann Arbor, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sexton, Jonathan Zachary — University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
- Study coordinator: Sexton, Jonathan Zachary
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.