# LYG-LIV-001 ectopic liver by LyGenesis

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/longevity/lyg-liv-001
Frontier: [Longevity](https://technooptimist.io/longevity.md) · Field: Replacement & regeneration · Company: [LyGenesis](https://technooptimist.io/companies/lygenesis.md)
Stage: Pilot (3 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling)
Updated: last update 2026-10-01, facts checked 2026-10-11
Goal: Give people with failing livers extra liver function without a transplant. Up to half of end-stage patients cannot get a new liver; growing ectopic liver in lymph nodes could help them and stretch each donated organ to dozens of people.
Status: Phase 2a dose escalation: cohort 1 (4 patients) cleared; higher doses across more lymph nodes next.
Next milestone: Cohort 2: 150M cells across 3 lymph nodes

## Milestones

| Status | Milestone | Date | Slip |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Done | Ectopic liver rescues pigs and dogs with liver failure |   |   |
| Done | First patient dosed in Phase 2a (Houston Methodist) | Apr 2024 |   |
| Done | DSMB clears cohort 1 (4 patients) to dose-escalate | Mar 2025 |   |
| Current | Cohort 2: 150M cells across 3 lymph nodes |   |   |
| Planned | Cohort 3: 250M cells across up to 5 lymph nodes |   |   |

## Most important updates

- **1 Oct 2026**: LyGenesis CEO details dose plan: 50M liver cells in one lymph node, rising to 250M across five, with no serious adverse events so far. At LSX US 2026, CEO Michael Hufford said the first cohort received 50 million hepatocytes in a single lymph node with no serious adverse events, and that later cohorts get 150 million cells across three nodes and 250 million across up to… ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/lygenesis-ceo-details-dose-plan-50m-liver-cells-in-one-lymph-node-2477375b.md) · [original source](https://www.bioxconomy.com/growth-strategy/lygenesis-grows-ectopic-livers-inside-lymph-nodes))
- **4 Mar 2025**: Safety board clears LyGenesis ectopic-liver trial to escalate dose after first four patients. The trial's Data and Safety Monitoring Board reviewed safety, tolerability and efficacy data from the first cohort of four patients and recommended continuing at a higher dose for the next four. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/safety-board-clears-lygenesis-ectopic-liver-trial-to-escalate-dose-b9f40901.md) · [original source](https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/data-and-safety-monitoring-board-approves-lygenesiss-phase-2a-clinical-trial-to-continue-and-dose-escalate-in-novel-trial-of-organ-regeneration))
- **2 Apr 2024**: LyGenesis doses first patient in Phase 2a trial growing ectopic livers in lymph nodes for end-stage liver disease. LyGenesis dosed the first patient in an open-label, dose-escalation Phase 2a trial of LYG-LIV-001, donor liver cells injected into lymph nodes that act as living bioreactors to grow ectopic liver. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/lygenesis-doses-first-patient-in-phase-2a-trial-growing-ectopic-livers-4b897fed.md) · [original source](https://appliedclinicaltrialsonline.com/view/first-patient-dosed-in-phase-iia-trial-of-regenerative-cell-therapy-for-end-stage-liver-disease))

## Current obstacles

- **Efficacy still unproven in people**: Only first-cohort safety has been reported; whether ectopic liver grows and measurably improves function in humans awaits higher-dose cohorts.
- **Supply of donor cells**: Fresh cells depend on unmatched livers becoming available; the company is building cell cryopreservation to bank and ship them.

## Physics limits

- **Lymph nodes are small**: One node holds a limited number of cells, so the top dose spreads 250M cells over up to five nodes; small animals grew ectopic liver up to 70% of native volume, but human nodes may differ.

## How it works

### Cells from unused livers: Donor livers that missed a match

Hepatocytes (the liver's working cells) are isolated to clinical grade from donated livers that missed a transplant match. They are not genetically engineered.

### Injection into nodes: Endoscope through the stomach wall

A doctor guides a needle by ultrasound through an endoscope into lymph nodes beside the duodenum, near the liver, in a roughly 10-minute outpatient procedure.

### Growth signals: The sick liver tells the new one to grow

Nodes near the liver are bathed in growth signals released by the diseased organ, which drive the injected cells to multiply into ectopic liver tissue.

### Support, not replace: A 10–20% boost may be enough

The new tissue does not replace the native liver; the company estimates that adding 10–20% of liver function could relieve many symptoms and buy time.

## Spec sheet

| Spec | LYG-LIV-001 ectopic liver | Provenance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Phase 2a enrollment (planned) | 12 patients, cohorts of 4 | reported |
| Cohort 1 dose | 50M hepatocytes, 1 lymph node | reported |
| Top planned dose | 250M hepatocytes, up to 5 nodes | reported |
| Procedure | Endoscopic ultrasound, ~10 min, light sedation | reported |
| Patients per donated liver | 50+ (company estimate) | reported |
| Follow-up per patient | 1 year | reported |

Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure.

## About LyGenesis

Pittsburgh biotech that grows new organ tissue inside a patient's own lymph nodes. Its lead therapy injects donor liver cells into lymph nodes to grow a second, small liver in people with end-stage liver disease.

- Uses lymph nodes as living bioreactors: donor cells injected there grow into working ectopic liver, without major surgery.
- Phase 2a in end-stage liver disease at Houston Methodist; first cohort cleared for dose escalation in March 2025.
- Same idea in preclinical work for thymus (immune aging), pancreatic islets and kidney.

- Headquarters: US
- Status: private
- Website: https://www.lygenesis.com
- People: Michael Hufford (Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer); Eric Lagasse (Chief Scientific Officer)
- Partners, customers, investors: Juvenescence (investor); Prime Movers Lab (investor); Houston Methodist (partner); iTolerance (partner)

Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/lygenesis.md

## Related programs

Everything in Longevity: https://technooptimist.io/longevity.md

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