Univ. of Osaka Develops Miniature Livers from iPS Cells
Osaka, April 18 (Jiji Press)--A University of Osaka team has said that it became the world's first to make elaborate miniature livers from human induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells.
The small livers, called liver organoids, each about 0.5 millimeters in size, can function as well as the liver of a human newborn. The team expects that the organoids can be used to treat patients with end-stage liver disease.
The research results were published in the online edition of the British journal Nature on Thursday.
Regions in the liver have their own functions, such as synthesizing and breaking down sugar and fat. It was difficult to reproduce such a complex structure when making a liver from iPS cells.
To make the organoids, the team including professor Takanori Takebe of the university's Graduate School of Medicine decided to use bilirubin, produced when red blood cells are broken down, and vitamin C because both substances control liver functions.
(2025/04/18-11:13)
To read a full story, please click here to find out how to subscribe.
NATIONAL
-
04/19 20:40 Protesters March in Tokyo for WWII Relief for Civilians, Others - 04/19 19:42 (Update) 2 MSDF Ships Visit China-Linked Cambodian Naval Base
- 04/19 18:57 INTERVIEW: Ex-Negotiator Expects Some Tariff Deal by June
- 04/19 17:54 Tokyo Car Crash Victims Remembered 6 Years On
-
04/19 17:12 MSDF Ships Make Port Call at China-Linked Cambodian Naval Base - 04/19 15:06 Japanese Soft Doughnuts to Debut in New York
- 04/19 13:56 Onishi Becomes 3rd Japanese Astronaut to Command ISS
- 04/19 13:28 Japan to Start This Year's Special Heat Stroke Alert System Wed.
- 04/19 12:29 Japan, U.S. Finance Ministers Seen Holding Meeting Thurs.
- 04/18 23:56 (Update) U.S. in Hurry to Strike Deal: Japan's Tariff Negotiator
- 04/18 21:56 Ishiba Spurs Preparations for Next Tariff Talks with U.S.
- 04/18 21:45 Russia to Hold Shooting Drill near Disputed Pacific Islands
- 04/18 21:15 Strong Earthquake Strikes Nagano in Central Japan
- 04/18 21:13 (Update) Japan Rice Price to Wholesalers Posts 1st Fall in 8 Months
- 04/18 21:00 New U.S. Ambassador Glass Arrives in Japan
- 04/18 20:27 Japan's Territory Museum Reopens
- 04/18 20:16 Winter Arctic Sea Ice Area Hits Record Low: Japan Data
- 04/18 19:06 1,454 Stock Transactions via Hacked Accounts Found in Japan
- 04/18 19:02 Japan's Tariff Negotiator Vows Utmost Effort on Return from U.S.
- 04/18 17:54 Once-White Knight Kitao Turns on Fuji Group 20 Years Later
- 04/18 17:48 Ishiba Vows Utmost Effort for Early Conclusion of Japan-U.S. Tariff Talks
- 04/18 17:40 "Miss Sake India" Contest Held in New Delhi
- 04/18 17:29 Japan Rice Price to Wholesalers Drops in March
- 04/18 16:33 Ishiba Not to Visit Yasukuni Shrine during Spring Festival
- 04/18 15:20 Japan Core Consumer Prices Up 2.7 Pct in FY 2024
- 04/18 15:04 Japan Enacts Bill to Better Protect Kids from Abuse
- 04/18 14:56 Japan Upper House Begins Debates on Active Cyberdefense Bill
- 04/18 14:00 Japan Enacts Bill to Allow Shooting of Urban Bears
- 04/18 12:27 Japan to Start Retrial System Review Discussions Mon.
- 04/18 11:13 Univ. of Osaka Develops Miniature Livers from iPS Cells
- 04/18 10:25 Trump Calls Tariff Talks with Japan "Very Productive"
- 04/17 23:59 Zojoji Buddhist Scriptures Added to UNESCO Memory of World
- 04/17 20:04 Bookings for Climbing Mt. Fuji This Season to Begin April 24
- 04/17 19:53 LDP Tops Support over Japan Upper House Election: Jiji Poll
- 04/17 19:26 64 Pct Oppose Scandal-Hit LDP Members in Key Posts: Jiji Poll
- 04/17 19:21 Ishiba Calls on U.S. Chip Giant AMD to Partner with Japan
- 04/17 18:56 Japanese Kids Take National Achievement Test Partly on Computers
- 04/17 17:57 Iwate Wildfire Burned 3,370 Hectares
- 04/17 17:42 Japan Watchdog to Warn 15 Luxury Hotel Operators
- 04/17 17:10 Min. Akazawa Discusses U.S. Tariffs with Japanese Firms
- 04/17 17:01 (Update) Man Executed over Attack on Japanese in China
- 04/17 16:31 (Update) Ishiba Cabinet Approval Sinks to 23.1 Pct: Jiji Poll
- 04/17 15:47 Man Held in Central Japan over Possible Body of Missing Female
- 04/17 15:43 Man Executed over Attack on Japanese in China
- 04/17 15:16 Ishiba Cabinet Approval Sinks to 23.1 Pct: Jiji Poll
- 04/17 14:47 Japan's Ishiba Hails 1st Round of Tariff Talks with U.S.
- 04/17 14:03 Japan Logs Trade Deficit of 5,221 B. Yen in FY 2024
- 04/17 13:35 Comedian Ishibashi Apologizes over Dinner in Question
- 04/17 13:26 (Update 2) Japan, U.S. Agree to Aim for Swift Comprehensive Deal
- 04/17 13:14 Scams to Hijack Securities Accounts on Rise in Japan
- 04/17 12:20 Hiroyuki Sanada among Time's 100 Most Influential People
- 04/17 12:03 (Update) Japan, U.S. Agree to Aim for Swift Comprehensive Deal
- 04/17 10:28 Japan Succeeds in Improving Parkinson's Symptoms with iPS Cells
- 04/17 09:22 Japan's Akazawa Meets with U.S. Pres. Trump
- 04/17 09:00 U.S. Tariffs Overshadow Japan's Agriculture, Food Exports
- 04/17 00:01 Saitama Girl May Have Been Random Target in Monday's Attack
- 04/16 22:02 Japan Gasoline Subsidies to Hit Zero for 1st Time
- 04/16 22:01 Japan Not to Use Kosei Nenkin Funds for Basic Pensions
- 04/16 21:28 Trump to Attend Japan-U.S. Ministerial Meeting on Tariffs
- 04/16 20:55 Japan PM Ishiba to Visit Vietnam, Philippines from April 27
- 04/16 20:37 LDP Rejects Woman Critical of Shinzo Abe as Election Candidate
- 04/16 19:56 (Update) Visitors to Japan Hit Record High for March
- 04/16 19:34 Ishiba Faces Backlash as Extra Budget Now Unlikely
- 04/16 19:04 Tokyo Police Refer Dewi Sukarno to Prosecutors
- 04/16 18:43 Proper Disposal of Lithium-Ion Batteries Urged in Japan
- 04/16 18:34 Visitors to Japan Hit Record High for March
- 04/16 18:31 Japan Average Pump Price Matches Record High at 186.5 Yen
- 04/16 18:17 Actor Ryoko Hirosue Released from Police Custody
- 04/16 17:54 Japan Renovates School in Northern India
- 04/16 17:21 Japan to Hold 3rd Auction of Stockpiled Rice Next Week
- 04/16 14:27 Japan Unprecedentedly Loved by Taiwanese: Poll
- 04/16 14:19 Family Mourns Univ. Student Killed in 2016 Kumamoto Quake
- 04/16 13:54 Japan Core Machinery Orders Up 4.3 Pct in Feb.
- 04/16 12:19 Japan Enacts Bill for Quick Restoration of Disaster-Hit Ports
- 04/16 10:15 U.S. Official to Visit Japan, Others from Wed.
- 04/16 09:16 G-7 Ministers Demand Ceasefire in Sudan
- 04/16 00:07 Japan Unlikely to Compile Extra Budget Now
- 04/15 21:41 MSDF Ships to Visit China-Backed Naval Base in Cambodia
- 04/15 21:09 (Update) Ishiba Honors Armitage's Contribution to Japan-U.S. Alliance
- 04/15 20:58 (Update) Japan Min. Akazawa to Visit U.S. from Wed. for Tariff Talks
- 04/15 20:46 INTERVIEW: ASEAN+3 Economist Warns of U.S. Tariff Impact on Japan
- 04/15 20:42 Ishiba's Expo Diplomacy Begins with Turkmen Leader
- 04/15 20:20 CDP Group Proposes Consumption Tax Exemption for Food
- 04/15 20:10 Man Arrested over Fatal Stabbing of Girl in Saitama
- 04/15 20:04 Finance Ministry Calls for Increasing Tariff-Free Rice Imports
- 04/15 18:56 Japan Emperor Meets with Turkmenistan President
- 04/15 18:12 Japan Min. Akazawa to Visit U.S. from Wed. for Tariff Talks
- 04/15 17:59 Japan Issues Cease-and-Desist Order against Google
- 04/15 17:16 U.S. Govt Revokes Grant for JR-Backed Texas Bullet Train
- 04/15 17:07 Japan Govt Spokesman Mourns Death of Armitage
- 04/15 16:59 GSDF to Deploy Ospreys to Saga from July
- 04/15 16:26 Hayabusa2 Mission Important to Planetary Defense
- 04/15 15:26 (Update) TEPCO Begins 2nd Nuclear Debris Removal Work
- 04/15 15:15 (Update) Ex-U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Armitage Dies at 79
- 04/15 14:06 Wakayama Governor Kishimoto Dies at 68
- 04/15 12:06 Kyoto Hospital Succeeds in iPS Sheet Transplant to Diabetic
- 04/15 10:53 TEPCO Begins 2nd Nuclear Debris Removal Work
- 04/15 09:24 Ex-U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Armitage Dies at 79
- 04/14 22:28 Japanese Firms Call for Improved Distribution of Stockpiled Rice
- 04/14 21:40 2026 Olympic, Paralympic Torches Unveiled at Osaka Expo
- 04/14 21:18 (Update) Ishiba, Labor Leader Yoshino Vow Cooperation over Wage Hikes
- 04/14 20:30 Osaka Expo Advance Ticket Sales Miss Target
- 04/14 19:40 Japanese Emperor Hosts Tea Party for Lawmakers
- 04/14 19:08 (Update) Japan's Population Falls for 14th Straight Year
- 04/14 18:31 S. Korea Industry Groups Donate 3 B. Won for Wartime Labor Payments
- 04/14 18:15 (Update) Ishiba Denies Retaliatory Tariffs against U.S.
- 04/14 16:31 Wakayama Governor Taken to Hospital after Collapse
- 04/14 16:24 Japan's Population Falls for 14th Straight Year
- 04/14 15:38 Kumamoto Quake Victims Remembered after 9 Years
- 04/14 15:22 Japanese National Confirmed Dead in Myanmar Quake
- 04/14 13:59 Japan to Decide Whether to Compile Extra Budget: Ishiba
- 04/14 13:44 Whooping Cough Spreading in Japan
- 04/14 12:47 Turkmenistan 1st to Mark Osaka Expo National Day
- 04/14 10:48 58,000 Elderly People Died Alone at Home in Japan in 2024
- 04/14 09:46 USTR Hopes to Discuss Currency with Japan
- 04/13 18:49 LDP's Moriyama Says to Coordinate for Extra Budget
- 04/13 17:05 (Update) LDP, CDP Officials Side by Side Voice Caution on Tax Cut
- 04/13 14:07 Ishiba Argues Trump Tariffs Negative for U.S. Manufacturing
- 04/13 13:30 LDP, CDP Officials Side by Side Voice Caution on Tax Cut
- 04/13 13:03 (Update 2) Osaka Expo Kicks Off for 184-Day Run
- 04/13 10:57 Osaka Expo Kicks Off for 184-Day Run
- 04/12 22:44 (Update 2) Opening Ceremony Held for Osaka Expo
