increasing early DETECTION
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FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR LATEST RESEARCH
liver stem cell research project 2015 - 2020This ground-breaking research into improving outcomes for patients suffering from liver and pancreatic cancer is funded by a grant from LAPR&D which commenced in May 2015. It is being carried out at Southampton University Hospital by Dr. Mogib Khedr under the supervision of Professor Mo Abu Hilal and Professor Salim Khakoo.
The research involves harvesting healthy liver stem cells from liver specimens of patients who are undergoing liver surgery to be cultured (grown) outside of the body. As stem cells regenerate themselves it could mean that liver tissue can be generated out of the body. As the cells have been taken from the patient, stem cells have little chance of rejection, unlike with transplants. It could also help patients needing functional liver tissue whether they are suffering from non-functioning liver and waiting for a transplant or patients needing removal of a large part of their liver for cancer treatment. This could improve the outcomes for persons with serious liver disease. The study is focusing on human liver cell growth in laboratory conditions. Liver cells will be taken from the tissue of liver patients undergoing surgery. Patients have been recruited to the programme and experiments to grow the cells outside of the body will be conducted. Protocols will be developed for the isolation and maintenance of liver cells to ensure the effectiveness and reliability of liver cell culture. Appropriate growth factors (hormones) will be identified to improve the survival and growth of the liver cells to ensure life long functionality of the new cells. Challenging factors include the identification of the right concentration of those growth factors to ensure viability of the cells whilst at the same time avoiding any toxic effects. In separate experiments, a collaboration with colleagues in the School of Bio-Engineering at Southampton University, aims to develop a three dimensional model for liver stem cells which may mimic normal liver tissue construction. Our vision is to realise a small liver functioning in a similar manner to the human liver but outside of the body - "a liver on a plate" if you will. This will open up new prospects for the treatment and management of patients with liver disease. This research project has ended and a closing report can be found in the News section of our website. It is hoped that further grant support can be provided to a future phase of this project. |
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spirometry machines
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