Abstract:
A high-throughput three-dimensional (3D) hepatocyte culture model is constructed in this study. It is capable of replicating the 3D
in vivo environment and offers the advantages of high throughput, enhanced reproducibility, low cost, and simplified operation, rendering a valuable tool for hepatotoxicity screening of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). First, we constructed the 3D high throughput liver chip model using collagen hydrogel. The precision and its difference with traditional cell culture plates were assessed using acetaminophen,
Tripterygium hypoglaucum, and Qili San as the references. The feasibility of this model was also investigated by comparing the hepatotoxicity among four batches of
T. hypoglaucum and Qili San. The methodology verification shows that the 3D hepatocyte model is better than traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell culture model in precision and feasibility. Subsequently, we compared the hepatotoxicity of different samples over a period of three or seven days and found that the hepatotoxicity of TCM extracts increased over time. Finally, we compared the hepatotoxicity of
T. hypoglaucum and its compound formula Kunxian capsule under equivalent concentration. The results showed that the compound Kunxian capsule could significantly reduce hepatotoxicity of
T. hypoglaucum. Generally, we constructed a high-throughput, robust 3D liver-on-a-chip model with the potential of rapid assessing TCM-induced liver toxicity.