Human Liver Organoids to Predict the Outcome of Kasai Portoenterostomy

Background: Kasai portoenterostomy (KPE) remains the primary intervention for biliary atresia (BA), but its outcomes are highly variable. Reliable prognostic biomarkers remain elusive, complicating the management and prediction of postoperative progression.

Method: Liver biopsies from BA patients taken at and after KPE (post-KPE) were used to generate organoids for RNA-sequencing analysis. Control organoids were derived from non-BA livers. Differential gene expression and enrichment analyses were performed to assess post-KPE transcriptomic changes between native liver survivors (NLS) and patients who eventually became liver transplant recipients (LTR).

Results: Organoid datasets: 70 from liver biopsies at KPE (10 patients), 112 from post-KPE livers (13 livers; 12 patients), and 47 from control livers (9 patients). At KPE, BA organoids displayed mainly hepatocyte expression, a trait notably reduced in control organoids. Similarly, post-KPE organoids from NLS revealed a significant decrease in hepatocyte expression features and an overall increase in cholangiocyte expression features. A similar hepatocyte-to-cholangiocyte expression transition was evidenced in paired liver organoids (at- and post-KPE) generated from an NLS. In contrast, post-KPE organoids from LTR maintained a high level of hepatocyte expression features.

Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that an elevated expression of hepatocyte features in KPE organoids may indicate aberrant cholangiocyte development in BA livers. In contrast, a post-KPE hepatocyte-to-cholangiocyte expression transition in NLS may imply effective biliary recovery. The lack of this transition in LTR organoids indicates ongoing disease progression, highlighting the potential for organoid-based transcriptomic profiling to inform KPE success and guide BA management.

Level of evidence: Level III.