麻省理工学院的工程师团队成功开发了一种可注射的微型肝脏技术，通过将肝细胞与水凝胶微球混合物直接注射到体内来形成功能性肝脏组织。1在小鼠实验中，注射的肝细胞存活至少两个月，并继续产生肝脏正常产生的酶和蛋白质。1
这项创新成果由Sangeeta Bhatia教授领导，主要作者为Vardhman Kumar，研究成果已发表在《Cell Biomaterials》期刊2026年第2卷第7期。1肝脏负责人体约500项基本功能，该技术有望为需要肝脏移植的患者提供新的治疗途径。1美国超过10000名慢性肝病患者正在等待肝脏移植，但捐献器官的供应远低于实际需求。1研究团队指出，这种可注射微型肝脏既可作为肝脏移植的替代方案，也可在患者等待捐献器官期间充当桥接治疗。1
目前，患者可能需要服用免疫抑制药物以防止免疫系统攻击移植的肝细胞。1
Engineers at MIT have created injectable miniature livers by combining hepatic cells with hydrogel microspheres, enabling functional liver tissue to form directly within the body 1. In mouse studies, the injected liver cells survived for at least two months while continuing to produce enzymes and proteins normally generated by healthy livers 1.
The innovation addresses a critical medical need, as more than 10,000 patients in the United States with chronic liver disease are awaiting transplants, yet the supply of donor organs remains far below demand 1. The research team, led by senior author Professor Sangeeta Bhatia with Vardhman Kumar as principal author, envisions this approach serving either as an alternative to surgical transplantation or as a bridging therapy while patients await a suitable donor organ 1. Given that the liver performs approximately 500 essential functions in the human body, restoring its capabilities through such a method could significantly improve outcomes for patients with liver failure 1.
The findings were published in Cell Biomaterials, Volume 2, Issue 7, in 2026 1. Patients receiving this therapy may currently need to take immunosuppressive medications to prevent the immune system from attacking the transplanted cells 1.
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