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Liver cell breakthrough

London: Scientists have bred mice that are able to produce human liver cells, a breakthrough which could help in understanding liver diseases and the development and testing of new drugs to treat them. “This has the potential, if it becomes easy to use and widely available, to change the way drugs are tested,” said Markus Grompe, a geneticist at Oregon Health & Science University’s school of medicine, who led the research. The liver breaks down most of the chemicals that enter the body, including pharmaceuticals. All new drugs have to be tested for their effects on the organ. They added that the mouse cells could be used to test new therapies against infectious diseases that attack the liver, including hepatitis C and malaria. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2007

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