"Bio-Artificial Liver" Begins Clinical Testing

By Chuck Seegert, Ph.D.

Testing on an engineered liver replacement is under way at Cedars-Sinai. Using human cells, the device may provide a solution to the long absent need for artificial liver function.

Patients experiencing kidney failure are able to obtain relief from dialysis treatments, a method of removing wastes from the blood. Cardiac patients can be treated with ventricular assist devices or even artificial hearts. So far, however, there has been no analog for patients undergoing liver failure.

"The quest for a device that can fill in for the function of the liver, at least temporarily, has been underway for decades,” said Steven D. Colquhoun, M.D., the surgical director of liver transplantation at Cedars-Sinai’s Comprehensive Transplant Center, in a recent press release. “A bioartificial liver, also known as a BAL, could potentially sustain patients with acute liver failure until their own livers self-repair."

The functions of the liver are very complex, which has made development of artificial liver function challenging. Normally, the liver governs regulation of glucose levels, protein production, and detoxification. Liver failure can occur for a number of reasons including trauma, viral infections, and chemical poisoning including alcohol abuse.

To mimic this function, a team at a company called Vital Therapies Inc. developed a device they call the ELAD bio-artificial liver, according to the press release. The ELAD device works by withdrawing blood from a central venous line and filtering it through a system that has four, 1-foot long tubes. Each tube contains human liver cells that process the blood, clean the blood, and make proteins — all while performing other critical organ-related processes, according to the press release.

"If successful, a bioartificial liver could not only allow time for a patient’s own damaged organ to regenerate, but also promote that regeneration. In the case of chronic liver failure, it also potentially could support some patients through the long wait for a liver transplant," Colquhoun explained in the press release.

While the technology available to replace liver function is advancing, replacement of kidney function also continues to progress. Recently, a wearable artificial kidney was approved by the FDA for human clinical trials, which are currently underway. 

Image Credit: ELAD investigational bio-artificial liver support system, Vital Therapies Inc.