Hepatitis Research May Benefit From Stem Cells

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Hepatitis Research May Benefit From Stem Cells

03 Feb 2012

Hepatitis C is a viral disease that leads to inflammation and organ

failure. However, researchers are puzzled as to why some individuals

are very susceptible to the disease, while others are not.

Researchers believe they could find out how genetic variations

produce these different responses by investigating liver cells from

different individuals in the lab. However, liver cells are hard to

obtain and extremely challenging to grow in a lab dish as they often

lose their normal function and structure when removed from the body.

Now, scientists from MIT, Rockefeller University and the Medical

College of Wisconsin have found a technique to generate liver-like

cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). iPSCs are created

from body tissues instead of embryos; the liver-like cells that can

be infected with hepatitis C. iPSCs could allow researchers to

investigate why individuals respond differently to the disease. The

study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences.

Although many research terms have tried to established an infection

in cells obtained from iPSCs, this study is the first to have done

so. In addition, the new technique could eventually facilitate

"personalized medicine." Using tissues obtained from the patient

being treated, doctors could test the effectiveness of various

medications and customize a treatment for that individual patient.

This study is a joint effort between Sangeeta Bhatia, the and

Dorothy Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT; Rice, a

professor of virology at Rockefeller; and Duncan, a

professor of human and molecular genetics at the Medical College of

Wisconsin.

In 2011, Bhatia and Rice revealed that by growing liver cells on

special micropatterned plates that direct their organization, they

could influence the cells to grow outside the body. Although, these

cells can be infected with hepatitis C, researchers cannot

proactively research the role of genetic variation in viral

responses, as the cells derive from organs donated for

transplantation and represent only a small population.

Bhatia and Rice collaborated with Duncan, who had demonstrated that

he could transform iPSCs into liver-like cells, in order to produce

cells with more genetic variation.

Often, such iPSCs are taken from skin cells. Researchers can restore

these cells to an immature state - the same as embryonic stem cells

- which can differentiate into any cell type by switching on

specific genes in those cells. The cells can then be directed, once

they become pluripotent, to become liver-like cells by switching on

genes that regulate liver development.

In this study, MIT postdoc Schwartz and graduate student

Kartik Trehan infected those liver-like cells with hepatitis C. They

created the viruses to expel a light-producing protein each time

they went through their life cycle in order to confirm that

infection had taken place.

The primary goal for the team is to obtain cells from individuals

who had unusual reactions to hepatitis C infection and transform

them into liver cells in order to research their genetics to find

out why they responded the way they did.

Bhatia explains:

"Hepatitis C virus causes an unusually robust infection in some

people, while others are very good at clearing it. It's not yet

known why those differences exist."

One possible reason may be genetic variations in the expression of

immune molecules, such as interleukin-28, a protein that has been

demonstrated to play a vital role in the response to hepatitis

infection. Other potential factors include, cell's susceptibility to

having viruses control their replication machinery and other

cellular structures, as well as cell's expression of surface

proteins that allow the virus to penetrate the cells.

Bhatia explains the liver-like cells generated in this investigation

are similar to "late fetal" liver cells. The team is currently

working on producing more mature liver cells.

The long-term goal for the team is personalized treatments for

individuals with hepatitis. According to Bhatia one could imagine

obtaining cells from an individual, making iPSCs, reprogramming them

into liver cells and infecting them with the same strain of

hepatitis that the individual has. This would allow doctors to test

various medications on the cells to find out which ones are better

at clearing the infection.

Written by Grace Rattue

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

References:

Source: MIT

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Grace Rattue. "Hepatitis Research May

Benefit From Stem Cells." Medical News Today.

MediLexicon, Intl., 3 Feb. 2012. Web.

20 Feb. 2012.

<http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241164.php>

APA

Grace Rattue. (2012, February 3).

"Hepatitis Research May Benefit From Stem Cells." Medical

News Today. Retrieved from

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241164.php.

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