Innovating with compassion: How liver research at the University of Liverpool is breaking free from animal-derived products
Professor Chris Goldring & Dr Giusy Russomanno
Meet Professor Chris Goldring and Dr Giusy Russomanno, two brilliant researchers receiving Animal Free Research UK funding at the Human Liver Research Facility (HLRF) at the University of Liverpool. They’re making huge strides toward animal-free research, focusing on a big question: could a fatty liver increase the risk of drug-induced liver injury (DILI)? Let’s take a look at their game-changing journey so far!
In just the first few months of their project, Chris and Giusy have already swapped out an animal-derived product called collagenase, which helps break down tissues to isolate cells, with an animal-free alternative called liberase. This ethical replacement, extracted from a bacteria called Clostridium histolyticum, does the same job – with no animals required! And here’s the best part: tests showed that liberase worked just as well as collagenase, with no negative effects on their 3D liver spheroids (“mini livers” grown from patient cells). Thanks to this win, liberase is now the only product used for this purpose at the HLRF, and is the go-to choice across all their projects.
Liver spheroids grown from a patient’s donated liver cells. The red parts are fat cells, and there are more fatty cells when the cells are grown in Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-inducing cell culture media (NAFLD – right image) compared to normal (control) media (left image).
But the team didn’t stop there! They also swapped out two more animal-based products: foetal calf serum (FCS) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) in their cell culture with human versions. Not only does this mean fewer animal products, but it sets a fantastic example for other researchers to go animal-free too.
These impressive milestones prove that groundbreaking science doesn’t need to rely on animals or animal-derived products. It’s only the beginning, and we can’t wait to see what Chris and Giusy will achieve next!
Click here to read more about their pioneering project.
