[ad_1]
Spanish researchers generated in the laboratory hepatic cells of human stem cells with which they made a liver "in vitro" to study liver diseases and toxicity medication.
In a study published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell researchers at IDIBAPS in Barcelona managed to generate in the laboratory a type of liver cells, stellate cells, who are the main responsible for the appearance of fiber in the liver when the disease is triggered.
The work was coordinated by Pau Sancho-Bru, head of the Plasticity and Tissue Repair group in Hepatic Diseases of IDIBAPS and CIBER researcher of liver and digestive diseases (CIBEREHD). And the first signatory of the study is Mar Coll, a postdoctoral researcher from CIBEREHD in the same group.
As explained by Sancho-Bru, stellate liver cells are a type of liver cells that are decisive in the processes of repairing organ damage and that, in the context of disease, they change their functioning and are the main culprits of the appearance of fibrosis and stiffness of the liver.
Article
Vitrification helps to preserve oocytes before oncological treatment
To study liver diseases and perform preliminary studies with drugs, it is important to have an "in vitro" model that approaches as much as possible to the patient's primary organ and, therefore, it is important that it contain the cellular diversity of the human liver.
According to the researcher, primary stellate cells, ie those directly isolated from the liver are difficult to obtain, have a limited capacity for growth "in vitro" and modify their function when 39, they are cultivated
" pluripotent stem cells are a promising alternative as a source of liver cells. for biomedical applications because they have the capacity to develop in an unlimited way and to differentiate towards different types of cells, "says Sancho-Bru. [196] 59002] "A key aspect of hepatic stellate cells generated from stem cells is that they can be generated from patients or genetically engineered to have those mutations that predispose to the progression of liver diseases, allowing Researchers have realized that hepatic cells created from stem cells have the same morphological and functional characteristics, and have also developed an "in vitro" system to model the disease consisting of a three-dimensional culture with hepatocytes. , the most abundant cells of the liver, as well as the generated hepatic stellate cells.
Article
Already tested with fibrous liver samples provided by the Unit of Experimental Medicine of UNAM at l & # 39; General Hospital
"We managed to generate spheroids, or 3D structures with both cell types and performed toxicity studies to validate the model," says Mar Coll, adding that "although stellate cells They are not the most abundant of the liver, they have a great impact on the disease and it was essential to have them in culture to have better models in vitro. "
" Until now, we could only see the toxicity of hepatocytes with associated fibrosis until tests were performed in animals or clinics, "said Sancho-Bru
"We have managed to model fibrosis and now we have a more accurate model and a more complex liver, which can make toxicity studies more robust and long-term," he concluded.
ld
Source link
