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Deng S, Zhao X, Kou Z, Zhu Y, Zhang X, Chan HF. Effect of Valproic Acid on Promoting the Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells Into Cholangiocyte-Like Cells. Stem Cells Transl Med 2024; 13:166-176. [PMID: 37995322 PMCID: PMC10872666 DOI: 10.1093/stcltm/szad079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Cholangiocytes form a complex 3D network of bile ducts in the liver and contribute to liver function. The damage or destruction of cholangiocytes can lead to biliary diseases, and the shortage of cholangiocytes remains an obstacle for drug development targeting biliary diseases. Valproic acid (VPA) is a potent activator of Notch signaling pathway that is essential for cholangiocyte differentiation. Here, we report a VPA-based approach for cholangiocyte differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells. VPA activated Notch2 expression and upregulated HES-1, HEY-1, and Sox9 gene expression in hESC-derived hepatoblast. After 7 days treatment, VPA promoted successful differentiation of hepatoblast into cholangiocytes expressing cholangiocyte marker genes (AE2, AQP1, CFTR) and proteins (CK19 and CK7). In addition, the differentiated cholangiocytes formed bile duct-like structures after implantation into the spleen of NOD/SCID mice. Our results suggested that VPA can promote hESC differentiation to cholangiocyte-like cells. The induced cholangiocytes may serve as a potential cell source for both in vitro modeling and regenerative therapy of cholangiopathies. The findings can also support further development of small-molecule based differentiation protocols for cholangiocyte production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Deng
- Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of the Ministry of Education of China, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
- Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiaoyu Zhao
- Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of the Ministry of Education of China, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
- Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ziyan Kou
- Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of the Ministry of Education of China, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
- Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanlun Zhu
- Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of the Ministry of Education of China, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
- Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
- Center for Neuromusculoskeletal Restorative Medicine, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xuerao Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of the Ministry of Education of China, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
- Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
| | - Hon Fai Chan
- Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of the Ministry of Education of China, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
- Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
- Center for Neuromusculoskeletal Restorative Medicine, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
- Hong Kong Branch of CAS Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China
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