Precision-cut liver slices: A tool to model the liver ex vivo

To improve and accelerate drug discovery, there is an urgent need for reliable and reproducible (animal and especially human) in vitro methods to test compounds for the treatment of liver diseases, such as viral hepatitis, NASH, fibrosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The in vitro models currently utilized in liver research cannot predict or mimic the complex cellular interactions that occur in vivo. Thus in isolated primary cells or cell lines, dedifferentiation rapidly occurs, partly due to the loss of the natural environment, including cues from the extracellular matrix and neighbouring or migratory cells.