Conditions for maintenance of hepatocyte differentiation and function in 3D cultures

3D spheroid cultures of primary human hepatocytes (PHH) are used in studies of hepatic drug metabolism and toxicity. However, the 3D spheroids are maintained under different conditions, with possible cofounding results. Here we performed an in-depth analysis of how various culture conditions influence 3D spheroids. Our aim was to find optimal conditions for the maintenance of a normal PHH phenotype.