In Vivo Liver Reprogramming and Blood-Liver Organoids
Milad Rezvani
Our DFG-Emmy Noether Program-funded lab has two main focuses: First, we are developing in vivo tissue regeneration as a therapeutic strategy. Second, we aim to understand the dynamics between hematopoietic and hepatic systems in development and disease using blood-liver organoids.
For the development of tissue reprogramming, our experimental strategies include creating humanized mice and conducting CRISPR screenings based on 2D and 3D liver models made from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). We identify genes that restore hepatocyte function during injury and reprogram the fibro-inflammatory milieu in chronic disease. Ultimately, we hope to offer treatment strategies for children and adults with common and rare liver disorders.
In the realm of blood-liver co-development, we have established human organoids with hepatic and multipotent hematopoietic trajectories that can co-develop an organoid-immune system. These organoids help us understand the inter-lineage crosstalk between blood and liver lineages in developmental blood and liver diseases, such as Biliary Atresia (BA) or hemoglobinopathies, and more.
