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Mechanism for the Functioning of the Artificial Liver

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Artificial Liver

Abstract

The liver is a vertebrate organ that detoxifies metabolites, synthesizes proteins, and produces biochemical substances necessary for digestion. The liver is mostly consisted of hepatocytes, regulating biochemical reactions necessary for normal life function. In the conditions of liver insufficiency, toxins could accumulate in the plasma and cause progressive encephalopathy and multiorgan dysfunction. Complications such as hyperdynamic circulation, coagulopathy failure, acute renal and respiratory insufficiency, cerebral edema, which will finally lead to brain death. Artificial liver support systems are designed to replace the detoxification functions in the liver temporally. With some artificial liver support systems, albumin is used as scavenger molecules for clearing toxins. Many studies observed that patients who received an artificial liver support system had significantly higher transplant-free survival than those who have not. Basically, artificial liver can act as “bridge” to the transplant procedure.

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  1. State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

    Qiongling Bao, Jing Guo, Yanfei Chen, Fengling Yang & Lanjuan Li

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  2. Jing Guo
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    Lanjuan Li

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Bao, Q., Guo, J., Chen, Y., Yang, F., Li, L. (2021). Mechanism for the Functioning of the Artificial Liver. In: Li, L. (eds) Artificial Liver. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5984-6_12

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