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Reza HA, Farooqui Z, Reza AA, Conroy C, Iwasawa K, Ogura Y, Okita K, Osafune K, Takebe T. Synthetic augmentation of bilirubin metabolism in human pluripotent stem cell-derived liver organoids. Stem Cell Reports 2023; 18:2071-2083. [PMID: 37832542 PMCID: PMC10679658 DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2023.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
UGT1A1 (UDP glucuronosyltransferase family 1 member A1) is the primary enzyme required for bilirubin conjugation, which is essential for preventing hyperbilirubinemia. Animal models lack key human organic anion transporting polypeptides with distinct epigenetic control over bilirubin metabolism, necessitating a human model to interrogate the regulatory mechanism behind UGT1A1 function. Here, we use induced pluripotent stem cells to develop human liver organoids that can emulate conjugation failure phenotype. Bilirubin conjugation assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and transcriptome analysis elucidated the role of glucocorticoid antagonism in UGT1A1 activation. This antagonism prevents the binding of transcriptional repressor MECP2 at the expense of NRF2 with associated off-target effects. Therefore, we introduced functional GULO (L-gulonolactone oxidase) in human organoids to augment intracellular ascorbate for NRF2 reactivation. This engineered organoid conjugated more bilirubin and protected against hyperbilirubinemia when transplanted in immunosuppressed Crigler-Najjar syndrome rat model. Collectively, we demonstrate that our organoid system serves as a manipulatable model for interrogating hyperbilirubinemia and potential therapeutic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hasan Al Reza
- Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Zishaan Farooqui
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Abid Al Reza
- Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Callen Conroy
- College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Kentaro Iwasawa
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Yasuhiro Ogura
- Department of Transplantation Surgery, Nagoya University Hospital, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Aichi, Japan
| | - Keisuke Okita
- Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Kenji Osafune
- Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Takanori Takebe
- Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Institute of Research, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA; Premium Research Institute for Human Metaverse Medicine (WPI-PRIMe), and Division of Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
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Shafritz DA, Ebrahimkhani MR, Oertel M. Therapeutic Cell Repopulation of the Liver: From Fetal Rat Cells to Synthetic Human Tissues. Cells 2023; 12:529. [PMID: 36831196 PMCID: PMC9954009 DOI: 10.3390/cells12040529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Progenitor cells isolated from the fetal liver can provide a unique cell source to generate new healthy tissue mass. Almost 20 years ago, it was demonstrated that rat fetal liver cells repopulate the normal host liver environment via a mechanism akin to cell competition. Activin A, which is produced by hepatocytes, was identified as an important player during cell competition. Because of reduced activin receptor expression, highly proliferative fetal liver stem/progenitor cells are resistant to activin A and therefore exhibit a growth advantage compared to hepatocytes. As a result, transplanted fetal liver cells are capable of repopulating normal livers. Important for cell-based therapies, hepatic stem/progenitor cells containing repopulation potential can be separated from fetal hematopoietic cells using the cell surface marker δ-like 1 (Dlk-1). In livers with advanced fibrosis, fetal epithelial stem/progenitor cells differentiate into functional hepatic cells and out-compete injured endogenous hepatocytes, which cause anti-fibrotic effects. Although fetal liver cells efficiently repopulate the liver, they will likely not be used for human cell transplantation. Thus, utilizing the underlying mechanism of repopulation and developed methods to produce similar growth-advantaged cells in vitro, e.g., human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), this approach has great potential for developing novel cell-based therapies in patients with liver disease. The present review gives a brief overview of the classic cell transplantation models and various cell sources studied as donor cell candidates. The advantages of fetal liver-derived stem/progenitor cells are discussed, as well as the mechanism of liver repopulation. Moreover, this article reviews the potential of in vitro developed synthetic human fetal livers from iPSCs and their therapeutic benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A. Shafritz
- Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Mo R. Ebrahimkhani
- Division of Experimental Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Pittsburgh Liver Research Center (PLRC), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, USA
| | - Michael Oertel
- Division of Experimental Pathology, Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Pittsburgh Liver Research Center (PLRC), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, USA
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YAP affects the efficacy of liver progenitor cells transplantation in CCl4-induced acute liver injury. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2022; 634:129-137. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2022.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2022] [Revised: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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