Figure 7. Liver cell and tissue engineering.

Progress in the field of liver cell and tissue engineering serves a bidirectional role as both a means for establishing robust model systems for investigating the human liver in health and disease, as well as the foundation for the development of new cell-based therapies. Consequently, applications exist on a continuum ranging from fundamental in vitro studies (left), to engineered approaches for interfacing with animal models (middle), and finally to translational clinical applications (right). In order to further understand human liver function and disease processes, engineered culture platforms can serve to complement animal models. Concurrently, the foundation of novel cell-based therapies is based on advances in cell and tissue engineering and the progression of these technologies from relevant animal disease models to clinical settings.