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Visualizing And Quantifying Lipid Droplets For A Fundamental Understanding Of Non­-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease In two­-dimensinal monolayer and three­-dimensional heterospheroid hepatocyte cultures

Wissink, S. (2022) Visualizing And Quantifying Lipid Droplets For A Fundamental Understanding Of Non­-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease In two­-dimensinal monolayer and three­-dimensional heterospheroid hepatocyte cultures.

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Abstract:Non¬-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is one of the most prevalent liver diseases, affecting more than 25% of the population, and is increasingly common. Early stages of NAFLD are reversible but due to the lack of symptoms, it often leads to irreversible stages where the liver is heavily damaged before being diagnosed. NAFLD is caused by an excessive amount of fat (steatosis) in hepatocytes (liver cells) in the form of lipid droplets (LDs). LDs are formed when hepatocytes are exposed to fatty acids (FAs). In this thesis, two different FAs, palmitic acid (PA) and deuterated -palmitic acid (D-¬PA) are tested and compared in different protocols on their ability to induce steatosis in the hepatic progenitor cell line HepaRG and the immortalized human liver carcinoma cell line HepG2. A quantification method is being developed to analyze histological images and quantify the amount of LDs, that are formed upon exposure of FAs, in the hepatocytes. Furthermore, the metabolic activity of the cells is measured to determine the influence of FAs on cell viability. The cells are also analyzed in 3D heterospheroids. Results showed that cells exposed upon FAs always ended up with more LDs than control cells. D-¬PA resulted in slightly less LDs overall compared to PA. Depending on the cell line and dissolvent used, sometimes higher molarities of FAs resulted in more LDs and sometimes it resulted in less LDs inside the cells. When LD quantification results are compared to metabolic activity, there seems to be a negative correlation between the two: When the number of LDs goes up, the metabolic activity goes down (and vice versa).
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:TNW: Science and Technology
Subject:42 biology, 44 medicine
Programme:Biomedical Technology BSc (56226)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/89354
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