T HE A RTIFICIAL L IVER Tanya Wang Biomedical Engineering 181 Professor Ying Sun

T HE L IVER F UNCTIONS The liver is one of the major organs necessary for survival, and the most metabolically complex organ. It is also the only organ that can completely regenerate itself. There are many functions of the liver such as to detoxify, synthesize plasma proteins, produce hormones, store glycogen, and produce the necessary biochemicals for digestion.

C AUSES OF L IVER DAMAGE Obesity Alcohol Hepatitis B/C or other viruses Toxins Autoimmune Diseases Acetaminophen (Tylenol) Drugs such as antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, and anticonvulsants. Ingestion of poisonous mushrooms Metabolic Diseases Cancer

L IVER D ISEASE DUE TO A LCOHOL

R EALITY C HECK In reality, the liver is an organ that has multiple functions, many of which cannot be replicated by a machine. The most effective treatment of liver damage is a liver transplant. Therefore, the role of an artificial liver is to sustain life until a liver transplant is possible, or long enough for the liver to regenerate itself. One of the original problems for artificial livers is that a machine cannot create the enzymes and chemicals that a real liver can. The only current solution to failure is a liver transplant.

T HE ELAD® A RTIFICIAL L IVER The ELAD ® system stands for the Extracorporeal Liver Assist Device. This is an external system that not only filters blood, but also synthesizing proteins that mimic normal liver function. This is done by filtering the patients blood through a matrix of immortalized human liver cells. This method of filtering not only cleanses the blood, but also gives the blood the same chemicals and nutrients a healthy liver would produce.

T HE P ROCESS The ELAD ® system is an external machine that can support liver functions for up to thirty days. This new system not only filters the blood, but is also lined with C3A human hepatocyte cells, which are grown inside the ELAD cartridges. These cells are picked up by the newly filtered blood, and transported back into the patient.

T HE ELAD ® S YSTEM Dialysis-type pump separates blood plasma Plasma is infused with glucose Plasma is filtered through the ELAD cartriages and picks up C3A cloned human liver cells C3A cells metabolize blood plasma and produce proteins Plasma is rejoined with the blood and infused back into the body.

C ONCLUSION The ELAD® cartridges last up to 17 days, but a patient has about a 30 day wait period. Six clinical trails have been done in the USA, UK, and China, and they have all been successful. 123 patients have been treated using ELAD ®. In the future, we hope that the artificial liver can sustain life long enough for a patients liver to regenerate without the use of a transplant.

F UN F ACT According to Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the Zeus, and gave it to humans. As a punishment, he was chained to a rock, and had his liver eaten by an eagle. By the next day, his liver would grow back, where it would yet again be eaten by the eagle.

R EFERENCES s/2003/Mar/liver_assist_device s/2003/Mar/liver_assist_device htm htm