Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

ALEX ® (Artificial Liver for Extracorporeal Xenoassistance): A New Bioreactor Containing a Porcine Autologous Biomatrix as Hepatocyte Support. Preliminary Results in an ex Vivo Experimental Model

2002; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 25; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1177/039139880202501010

1724-6040

Giovanni Ambrosino, Sergio Varotto, S.M.M. Basso, D. Galavotti, A. Cecchetto, Paolo Carraro, A Naso, Giustina De Silvestro, Mario Plebani, G Girón, Giovanni Abatangelo, Daniele Donato, Gabriela O’Toole Bom Braga, Andriano Cestrone, Luigi Marrelli, Marcella Trombetta, Vincenzo Lorenzelli, Antonio Picardi, Marialuisa Valente, Giorgio Palù, Alessandra Colantoni, David Van Thiel, Camillo Ricordi, Davide D’Amico,

Pancreatic function and diabetes

Long-term maintenance of viability and expression of differentiated hepatocyte function is crucial for bioartificial liver support. We developed a new bioreactor design (ALEX), associated with a new extracellular autologous hepatocyte biomatrix (Porcine Autologous Biomatrix - PBM) support. To test this new bioreactor, we compared it to a standard BAL (BioArtificial Liver) cartridge in a ex vivo model using human plasma added to bilirubin, ammonium and lidocaine. A pathology study was performed on both bioreactors. The results suggest that ALEX allows a maximal contact between the perfusing plasma and the liver cells and a proper hepatocyte support by a cell-to-matrix attachment. ALEX is a suitable cell support bioreactor, guaranteeing long-term maintenance of the metabolic activity of hepatocytes when compared to a standard BAL cartridge.