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STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Media

Serum-free cell culture media for the growth and differentiation of hepatic organoids from hPSC-derived hepatocyte-like cells

STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Media

Serum-free cell culture media for the growth and differentiation of hepatic organoids from hPSC-derived hepatocyte-like cells

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Serum-free cell culture media for the growth and differentiation of hepatic organoids from hPSC-derived hepatocyte-like cells
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Product Advantages


  • Generate human hepatic organoids reliably from hPSC-derived hepatic cells, without the need for primary human liver tissue

  • Model hepatic functionality with differentiated organoids expressing key mature liver-specific markers

  • Accelerate your research with organoids amenable to different culture formats and assays

  • Scale up your experiments with organoids that can be readily expanded and cryopreserved


Products for Your Protocol
To see all required products for your protocol, please consult the Protocols and Documentation.

Overview

Reliably establish, expand, and differentiate hepatic organoids from human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived hepatic cells with STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Media. Compatible with flexible culture methods and exhibiting key characteristics of mature hepatic cells, hPSC-derived hepatic organoids provide a versatile and scalable alternative to traditionally used models for studies in developmental biology, disease modeling, and drug discovery.

The STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Media workflow includes two media products, available individually:

STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Growth Medium for establishing and expanding fresh or cryopreserved hPSC-derived hepatic organoids for future experimentation or biobanking.

STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Differentiation Medium for generating hPSC-derived organoids exhibiting a more mature hepatic phenotype.

When combined with the STEMdiff™ Hepatocyte Kit , STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Media provide a complete workflow for the establishment, expansion, and differentiation of hepatic organoids using hPSC lines maintained in ձ𳧸™1 , mTeSR™ Plus or ձ𳧸™, alleviating the need for primary human liver tissue sourcing. The resulting hPSC-derived hepatic organoids can be adapted to a range of culture protocols, including 96- and 384- well plate assays, suspension cultures, genome editing, and 2D (organoid-derived) monolayers.

Explore related protocols in the hepatic cell culture methods library.
Cell Type
Hepatic Cells, PSC-Derived
Application
Cell Culture
Brand
STEMdiff
Area of Interest
Disease Modeling, Drug Discovery and Toxicity Testing, Epithelial Cell Biology, Organoids

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Safety Statement

CA WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including Ethyl Alcohol which are known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to 

Data Figures

Workflow diagram of STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Kit culture method.

Figure 1. STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Media Enables Establishment, Expansion, and Differentiation of hPSC-Derived Hepatic Organoids

(A) Mature hepatic organoids can be generated starting from hPSC-derived HLCs or HPs. For the generation of HLCs or HPs, see documentation for STEMdiff™ Hepatocyte Kit (Catalog #100-0520). HLCs (recommended) or HPs are mechanically dissociated and replated as fragments in Matrigel® domes and cultured in STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Growth Medium (Catalog #100-1773) to generate confluent cultures within 7 to 14 days. These organoids can be expanded every 6 - 8 days via fragment passaging in STEMdiff™ Organoid Growth Medium, and can also be cryopreserved as fragments. (B) After one passage, cultures can be switched to STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Differentiation Medium (Catalog #100-1774) to differentiate organoids toward more mature hepatic cell types. hPSCs = human pluripotent stem cells; HPs = hepatic progenitor cells; HLCs = hepatocyte-like cells.

Brightfield morphological images of hPSC-derived liver organoids.

Figure 2. HP- and HLC-Derived Liver Organoids Can Be Reliably Generated and Expanded Using STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Media

hPSC-derived organoids can be established from HPs and HLCs generated using the STEMdiff™ Hepatocyte Kit, and then expanded for at least 10 passages. Shown are representative images of HP- and HLC-derived organoids cultured in STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Growth Medium at (A, C) passage 1 and (B, D) passage 9. The HP- and HLC-derived organoids were further differentiated using STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Differentiation Medium at (E, G) passage 1, and (F, H) passage 9. The HP- and HLC-derived organoids shown were derived from the same hPSC line. hPSC = human pluripotent stem cells; HPs = hepatic progenitor cells; HLCs = hepatocyte-like cells.

Confocal images of hepatic organoids cultured with the STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Kit express key epithelial markers and mature hepatocyte markers.

Figure 3. Proliferating Hepatic Organoids Display Characteristics of Hepatic Progenitors While Differentiated Hepatic Organoids Display Characteristics of Mature Hepatocytes

(A-C) Hepatic organoids cultured in STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Growth Medium organoids express epithelial marker EPCAM, proliferation marker KI67, ductal markers CK19 and SOX9, and the fetal serum protein marker AFP. (D-F) Differentiated hepatic organoids cultured in STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Differentiation Medium express mature hepatocyte markers ALB and A1AT as well as hepatic transcription factor HNF4A. Some organoid regions also retain expression of hepatic progenitor/ductal markers AFP and CK19. Nuclei are counterstained with DAPI.

Graphs demonstrating efficient establishment of hepatic organoids.

Figure 4. STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Growth Medium Enables Efficient Establishment and Expansion of hPSC-Derived Hepatic Organoids

(A) STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Growth Medium supports more efficient organoid establishment from HLCs as compared to HPs, generating significantly more organoids from 1 well of HLCs in a 24-well plate than 1 well of HPs in a 24-well plate. (N = 3 cell lines) (B) Once established, HP- and HLC-derived organoids expanded in STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Growth Medium exhibit similar average growth rates across 10 passages. (N = 3 cell lines). Error bars = SD. Welch’s t-test used for statistical testing (**** p-value <0.0001). HPs = Hepatic progenitor cells; HLCs = Hepatocyte-like cells.

Graphs depicting the post-thaw recovery of cryopreserved organoid fragments.

Figure 5. HLC-Derived Organoids Maintained in STEMdiff™ Organoid Growth Medium Can Be Cryopreserved and Efficiently Recovered and Expanded Post-Thaw

(A) HLC-derived organoids can be cryopreserved as organoid fragments, and successfully thawed with high post-thaw recovery of fragments (N = 3 cell lines). (B) Recovered fragments retain their proliferative capacity and can be expanded in STEMdiff™ Organoid Growth Medium for several passages. Growth rates for organoids established from cryopreserved fragments are comparable to matched cultures that were never cryopreserved (N = 3 cell lines). Error bars = SD.

Gene expression of hPSC-derived liver organoids.

Figure 6. HP- and HLC-Derived Hepatic Organoids Exhibit Gene Expression Consistent with Hepatic Maturation When Differentiated Using STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Differentiation Medium

hPSC-derived liver organoids were established, expanded for up to 10 passages, differentiated, and harvested for gene expression analysis through qPCR at each passage. Compared to two-dimensional cultures of HPs and HLCs collected on Day 10 and Day 21 of differentiation, respectively, three-dimensional organoid cultures established from these stages and further matured in STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Differentiation Medium (hODM) exhibited up-regulated expression of mature hepatic markers ALB, ASGR1, and CYP3A4 at levels comparable to PHH. Expression levels are normalized to housekeeping genes (**** represents an adjusted p-value <0.0001, ** represents an adjusted p-value of 0.0035, * represents an adjusted p-value of 0.0397). hPSC = human pluripotent stem cells; HPs = hepatic progenitors; HLCs = hepatocyte-like cells; ALB = albumin; PHH = primary human hepatocyte, hOGM = STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Growth Medium, hODM = STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Differentiation Medium.

Heat map demonstrating increases and decreased in key hepatic markers.

Figure 7. RNA Sequencing Analysis Confirms a More Mature Functional State of HLC-Derived Organoids Upon Differentiation Using STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Media

HLC-derived organoids further differentiated in STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Differentiation Medium express increased levels of markers associated with mature hepatocyte identity and functionality, including serum protein synthesis (ALB), phase 1 and 2 drug metabolism (CYP2B6, CYP2C9, CYP3A4, UGT1A1, GSTA1), glucose metabolism (SLC2A2, GYS1, G6PC), lipid and cholesterol metabolism (FASN, PLIN2, NR1H3), bile acid synthesis (CYP27A1, BAAT), and urea synthesis (OTC, ARG1). Differentiated HLC-derived organoids also show reduced levels of fetal hepatocyte marker AFP. Columns represent 2 biological replicates analyzed by bulk RNA-seq in the first passage after organoids are established from HLCs, on Day 9 in STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Growth Medium, and on Day 19 in STEMdiff™ Hepatic Organoid Differentiation Medium. The housekeeping gene TBP is included as a reference. hPSC = human pluripotent stem cells; HPs = hepatic progenitors; HLCs = hepatocyte-like cells; ALB = albumin; PHH = primary human hepatocyte; AFP = Alpha-fetoprotein.

Protocols and Documentation

Find supporting information and directions for use in the Product Information Sheet or explore additional protocols below.

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100-1774
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English
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100-1773
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100-1774
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100-1773
Lot #
All
Language
English
Document Type
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Catalog #
100-1774
Lot #
All
Language
English
Document Type
Product Name
Catalog #
100-1774
Lot #
All
Language
English
Document Type
Product Name
Catalog #
100-1773
Lot #
All
Language
English