Generation of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived liver buds with chemically defined and animal origin-free media

Advances in organoid technology have broadened the number of target diseases and conditions in which human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based regenerative medicine can be applied; however, mass production of organoids and the development of chemically defined, animal origin-free (CD-AOF) media and supplements are unresolved issues that hamper the clinical applicability of these approaches. CD-AOF media and supplements ensure the quality and reproducibility of culture systems by lowering lot-to-lot variations and the risk of contamination with viruses or toxins. We previously generated liver organoids from iPSCs, namely iPSC-liver buds (iPSC-LBs), by mimicking the organogenic interactions among hepatocytes, endothelial cells (ECs), and mesenchymal cells (MCs) and recently reported the mass production of iPSC-LBs derived entirely from iPSCs (all iPSC-LBs), which should facilitate their large-scale production for the treatment of liver failure. However, in previous studies we used media originating from animals for differentiation except for the maintenance of undifferentiated iPSCs. Therefore, we developed a CD-AOF medium to generate all iPSC-LBs. We first developed a CD-AOF medium for hepatocytes, ECs, and stage-matched MCs, i.e., septum transversum mesenchyme (STM), in 2D cultures. We next generated all iPSC-LBs by incubating individual cell types in ultra-low attachment micro-dimple plates. The hepatic functions of all iPSC-LBs generated using the CD-AOF medium were equivalent to those of all iPSC-LBs generated using the conventional medium both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we found that this CD-AOF medium could be used in several cell culture settings. Taken together, these results demonstrate the successful development of a CD-AOF medium suitable for all iPSC-LBs. The protocol developed in this study will facilitate the clinical applicability of all iPSC-LBs in the treatment of liver diseases.