Turning Lymph Nodes Into Liver-Growing Factories

Turning Lymph Nodes Into Liver-Growing Factories

 

A tentative alternative for liver transplants has emerged, although it is a strange suggestion. A stem cell researcher in the University of Pittsburg discovered that you can grow tiny livers inside of lymph nodes. These miniature livers function just as well as a fraction of the full organ; add them up and (in the case of the trial) you get 70% of a working liver without the need for a donor.

The way it works is actually rather simple on the surgeon’s part: simply insert liver cells in the belly of the patient before their liver completely fails. As the main liver body dies, the liver cells, which have travelled through the lymphatic system and planted themselves in various nodes, will grow as a similar rate, cancelling the effects on the body. These tiny livers can work in the dead organ’s stead after it has been removed. The cells can only be inserted into the belly because otherwise there isn’t enough space for them to “migrate.” If the liver were too far gone and the patient was unable to be operated upon, the liver cells could also be injected somewhere closer to the surface, just to buy time for a transplant.

The major problem is that the liver cells may migrate somewhere where they won’t fit, such as near the brain. That seems like a fatal flaw in the design, but the liver cells can be tracked with fluorescents, so perhaps if they are monitored then where they go wouldn’t be so crucial as long as they are removed in time. After all, it’s that or die of liver failure.

This article was very interesting to me because it developed the idea discussed in class about how a transplanted liver will grow to fill its available space, and shrink via apoptosis if it is too large. It also relates to the lymphatic system, which I am studying for another class. The article says that the lymphatic system is perfect for the mini-livers because it has so many nodes which can be sacrificed, but the lymphatic system plays a major role in fluid balance. Balance implies a fine line to me, so I am surprised that the line is not as “fine” as I suspected.

http://discovermagazine.com/2012/mar/30-turning-lymph-nodes-into-liver-growing-factories/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C=