Novel ‘Bioartificial Liver’ Extends Survival in Preclinical Models of Advanced Liver Failure
Post Date: October 2, 2025 | Publish Date: Oct. 2, 2025
Japan-based team develops UTOpiA device using engineered liver tissue technology. Project led by expert with dual appointment at Cincinnati Children’s
A series of liver organoid research breakthroughs led by Takanori Takebe, MD, PhD, a member of the Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Research and Medicine (CuSTOM) at Cincinnati Children’s, has translated into a device under development in Japan that may someday help people with a fatal form of advanced liver failure.
Details about the new UTOpiA bioartificial liver system were published online Oct. 2, 2025, in the Journal of Hepatology. Takebe, who also works as a professor at the University of Osaka, is the corresponding author.
The study reports that rodents with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) survived significantly longer after treatment with a device that works in similar ways to a kidney dialysis machine. When people reach a similar state—usually after years of worsening liver damage caused by viral hepatitis infections or alcohol abuse—about 80% die within a month.
“This advanced form of liver failure is not exactly the same in rodents and humans, so more research is needed before this device would be ready for human use. But this study establishes a proof-of-concept that a very simple blood filtering device populated with engineered human tissues can help to recover organ failure,” Takebe says. “It will be exciting to see this technology develop further.”
How the system works
Unlike the maintenance function of kidney dialysis, and unlike other efforts to repair damaged livers with stem cells, this device is based on a collection of gene-edited liver organoids that work to both support and repair the declining organ.
The organoids, acting as a healthy partial replacement organ, support the liver’s normal role in detoxifying the blood system while also tamping down runaway inflammation that accelerates tissue damage.
In the study, rodents were treated under anesthesia while their blood was circulated through the device for two hours. The blood passed through one column of engineered organoids encased in alginate capsules and another column of cellulose acetate beads.
The study involved six groups of rodents that were followed for up to three days. About 12% of rodents survived without organoid support. But about 88% of the rodents in the UTOpiA-treated group survived through the study period.
Further development of this technology is expected to be conducted initially in Japan. Takebe and colleagues also have formed a U.S. bioventure called Kanzo Biomedicines.
“My hope is to bring it here to Cincinnati to help save children with failing livers. It may take several years to build a human-ready device, but we have already started further preclinical studies, Takebe says.
About Takanori Takebe
Takebe joined Cincinnati Children’s in 2016 as a scientist in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and soon became a co-founding member of the CuSTOM organoid group that had already produced several major advances in organoid technology including the first functioning mini versions of the intestines, stomach and esophagus.
Takebe’s multiple contributions have included producing the first three-organoid system that connects the liver, pancreas and bile duct; methods to mass-produce liver buds; and an advanced liver organoid that produces its own blood vessels.
Takebe has received many awards as a young investigator, including honors from the Emperor of Japan, the Vilcek Foundation, and the International Society for Stem Cell Research.
He also attracted widescale publicity after receiving an IgNobel Prize in 2024 for his work to develop a “butt breathing” method that someday soon may help rescue people with blocked airways or malfunctioning lungs by supplying oxygen to the blood via a liquid delivered through the rectum. An early-stage human clinical trial of this technology is underway in Japan.
Read more about ongoing organoid research at Cincinnati Children’s
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| Original title: | Reversal of ACLF and ALF using whole blood extracorporeal system combining HLA-depleted liver organoids with granulocyte-monocyte apheresis |
| Published in: | Journal of Hepatology |
| Publish date: | Oct. 2, 2025 |
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The Research Horizons blog features news and insights about the latest discoveries and innovations developed by the scientists of Cincinnati Children's. This blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Email researchnews@cchmc.org with questions or ideas.
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