Evaluation of cryopreserved human hepatocytes for functional studies in vitro and in a small animal model

Cryopreserved human hepatocytes (CHH) are an attractive cell source for hepatocyte transplantations as they can be used on demand. Here we evaluated these cells for research purposes in vitro and in a small animal model. Plating efficiency varied greatly between analysed batches, however succesfully attached cells then stayed alive and expressed hepatocyte specific markers for up to 7 days. To test infectability with human hepatotrophic viruses we incubated the CHH with infectious Hepatitis-D positive serum. Whereas freshly isolated human hepatocytes showed nuclear staining of HDV-core antigen in >50% of the cel…