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Cools L, Dastjerd MK, Smout A, Merens V, Yang Y, Reynaert H, Messaoudi N, Smet VD, Kumar M, Verhulst S, Verfaillie C, van Grunsven LA. Human iPSC-derived liver co-culture spheroids to model liver fibrosis. Biofabrication 2024; 16:035032. [PMID: 38865994 DOI: 10.1088/1758-5090/ad5766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
The lack of adequate humanin vitromodels that recapitulate the cellular composition and response of the human liver to injury hampers the development of anti-fibrotic drugs. The goal of this study was to develop a human spheroid culture model to study liver fibrosis by using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived liver cells. iPSCs were independently differentiated towards hepatoblasts (iHepatoblasts), hepatic stellate cells (iHSCs), endothelial cells (iECs) and macrophages (iMΦ), before assembly into free floating spheroids by culturing cells in 96-well U-bottom plates and orbital shaking for up to 21 days to allow further maturation. Through transcriptome analysis, we show further maturation of iECs and iMΦ, the differentiation of the iHepatoblasts towards hepatocyte-like cells (iHeps) and the inactivation of the iHSCs by the end of the 3D culture. Moreover, these cultures display a similar expression of cell-specific marker genes (CYP3A4, PDGFRβ, CD31andCD68) and sensitivity to hepatotoxicity as spheroids made using freshly isolated primary human liver cells. Furthermore, we show the functionality of the iHeps and the iHSCs by mimicking liver fibrosis through iHep-induced iHSC activation, using acetaminophen. In conclusion, we have established a reproducible human iPSC-derived liver culture model that can be used to mimic fibrosisin vitroas a replacement of primary human liver derived 3D models. The model can be used to investigate pathways involved in fibrosis development and to identify new targets for chronic liver disease therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Cools
- Liver Cell Biology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Mina Kazemzadeh Dastjerd
- Liver Cell Biology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Ayla Smout
- Liver Cell Biology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Vincent Merens
- Liver Cell Biology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Yuwei Yang
- Liver Cell Biology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Hendrik Reynaert
- Liver Cell Biology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Nouredin Messaoudi
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Vincent De Smet
- Liver Cell Biology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Manoj Kumar
- Stem Cell Institute Leuven, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Stefaan Verhulst
- Liver Cell Biology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Catherine Verfaillie
- Stem Cell Institute Leuven, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Leo A van Grunsven
- Liver Cell Biology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
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Chiu WA. Invited Perspective: Uneven Progress Addressing Population Variability in Human Health Risk Assessment. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2024; 132:31305. [PMID: 38498339 PMCID: PMC10947099 DOI: 10.1289/ehp13461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Weihsueh A. Chiu
- Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
- Interdisciplinary Faculty of Toxicology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
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