Poster: Fibrotic Liver Extracellular Matrix Substrates for 3D in-vitro Models of Human Liver Fibrosis

Igal Germanguz†, Evelyn Aranda†, Jennifer C. Xiong, Natalia Kissel, Alexandra Nichols, Eddie Gadee, Drew P. Daly, John D. O’Neill, PhD

Currently there are no drugs approved to treat non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). A major obstacle to develop effective treatments is the lack of predictive models for human steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis. Animal (e.g., rodent) models of NASH do not accurately recapitulate the natural history, histopathology, and metabolic profile of NASH. In-vitro NASH models have limited physiologic relevance and fail to provide the biochemical, structural, and mechanical environment in fibrotic human liver.

Xylyx Bio identifies and isolates the human disease environment, then develops and investigates disease-specific ECM substrates in vitro utilizing disease-relevant human cell types (e.g., hepatic stellate cells, hepatocytes).