Impact of 3D cellular environment on the structure and function on human liver cells derived from the ECACC (HEPG2 cells)

Description of impact

Reducing time, risk, cost, ethical and consent issues in the field of drug discovery
while increasing drug safety through “off-the-shelf” immortal, cancer derived cells grown as artificial tissues, providing reproducible models of human liver and intestine to minimize the use of animals and increase safety and efficiency in the clinical trials process. The discovery of new pharmaceuticals, such as antivirals, depends on proving drugs can be absorbed into the bloodstream when taken by mouth, that they are safe, nontoxic, and can be broken down by the liver. These pre-clinical assessments are typically performed in the laboratory using standard, authenticated immortalized cell cultures.
The next, more costly step involves testing in animals, cells from normal donors and eventually clinical trials. Accurate and relevant data from early testing tests are essential to minimize health risks and costly drug failures at later stages in the process.
In our study, well established ‘off-the-shelf’ ‘immortal’ cells from UKHSA’s European Collection of Authenticated Cell Cultures (ECACC) were used to replicate tissue like systems to generate liver-like tissues from “HEPG2” (Hepatocyte 2) cancer cells and intestinal cells from the “CACO2” (Cancer of the Colon 2) cell line. These refined models have the potential to increase drug safety, reducing timelines, costs and risk in the long term.

Impact date	6 Aug 2025
Category of impact	Health impacts