Lonza has further expanded its hepatocytes portfolio characterization with the addition of Verified for Spheroids Human Hepatocytes, which are pre-screened for their ability to promote rapid spheroid formation in cell culture.
Researchers working in toxicology, disease modeling and DMPK studies can now feel more confident in the performance of Lonza’s hepatocytes in their spheroid and other 3-dimensional (3D) culture platforms.
Lonza’s Verified for Spheroids™ Human Hepatocytes will be unveiled at the 58th Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting and ToxExpo from 10-14 March in Baltimore, MD (USA). Lonza experts will demonstrate how this innovative new range of primary plateable hepatocytes ensures rapid spheroid formation.
Physiologically relevant in vitro liver model systems play a crucial role in the success of toxicology, disease modeling and DMPK studies. Conventional 2-dimensional (2D) hepatocyte cultures offer good short-term models, but they tend to rapidly lose typical hepatocyte functionality, which makes them unsuitable for longer-term studies.
To address this challenge, self-assembling liver spheroids generated from primary human hepatocytes (PHH) are increasingly employed. These spheroids exhibit in vivo-like cell organization, improve the predictability of known clinical liver toxicants and preserve the viability and functionality of the hepatocytes. However, not all currently available hepatocyte donor batches are capable of forming spheroids in culture.
“Using spheroids as in vitro liver model systems requires researchers to carefully select donors and thoroughly examine hepatocyte lots in advance,” said Erica Chamberlin, Technical Specialist at Lonza. “With our Verified for Spheroids™ Human Hepatocytes, we take on this burden on behalf of our customers, enabling them to focus on what matters most – their science.”
Poster: Comparison of Primary Human Hepatocyte Spheroid Generation and Performance in Different Culture Systems
During the SOT Annual Meeting, Dr. Magdalene Stosik, Senior Scientist at Lonza, will present the results of a study whereby Lonza analyzed and optimized the formation, culture and performance of PHH in different spheroid culture systems. The study also compared metabolic function and viability of the spheroids over 28 days in culture. Primary human hepatocyte spheroids were rapidly generated that exhibited the ability to support liver metabolic function during long-term exposure and repeated dosing toxicology studies.
Symposium: 3D Human Organoids for Drug Toxicity, Metabolism and Disease State Studies
Lonza will sponsor this symposium, during which guest speaker Dr. Colin Edward Bishop, Professor at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC (USA), will discuss the key role 3D human organoids play in driving innovation across drug toxicity, metabolism and disease state studies.
Further information can be found at Lonza’s Booth #3322 at ToxExpo 2019, 11-13 March, or by accessing a new technical note and a white paper or via www.lonza.com/sot-2019
About Lonza
Lonza is an integrated solutions provider that creates value along the Healthcare Continuum®. Through our Pharma & Biotech segment and our Specialty Ingredients segment businesses, we harness science and technology to serve markets along this continuum. We focus on creating a healthy environment, promoting a healthier lifestyle and preventing illness through consumers’ preventive healthcare, as well as improving patient healthcare by supporting our customers to deliver innovative medicines that help treat or even cure severe diseases.
Patients and consumers benefit from our ability to transfer our pharma know-how to the healthcare, hygiene and fast-moving consumer goods environment and to the preservation and protection of the world where we live.
Founded in 1897 in the Swiss Alps, Lonza today is a well-respected global company with more than 100 sites and offices and approximately 15,500 full-time employees worldwide. The company generated sales of CHF 5.5 billion in 2018 with a CORE EBITDA of CHF 1.5 billion. Further information can be found at www.lonza.com
Lonza Group Ltd has its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. It has a secondary listing on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited. Lonza Group Ltd is not subject to the SGX-ST’s continuing listing requirements but remains subject to Rules 217 and 751 of the SGX-ST Listing Manual.
