Hepatocyte lineage cells derived from pluripotent stem cells
First Claim
1. A method of screening a compound for its effect on hepatocytes or a hepatocyte activity, comprising:
- a) combining the compound with a cell population obtained by differentiating primate pluripotent stem (pPS) cells, wherein at least ˜
60% of cells in the population have at least three of the following characteristics;
antibody-detectable expression of α
1-antitrypsin (AAT);
antibody-detectable expression of albumin;
absence of antibody-detectable expression of α
-fetoprotein;
RT-PCR detectable expression of asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGR);
ability to store glycogen;
cytochrome p450 activity;
glucose-6-phosphatase activity;
or the morphological features of hepatocytes;
b) determining any change to cells in the population or their activity that results from being combined with the compound; and
c) correlating the change with the effect of the compound on hepatocytes or a hepatocyte activity.
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Abstract
It has been discovered that when pluripotent stem cells are cultured in the presence of a hepatocyte differentiation agent, a population of cells is derived that has a remarkably high proportion of cells with phenotypic characteristics of liver cells. In one example, human embryonic stem cells are allowed to form embryoid bodies, and then combined with the differentiation agent n-butyrate, optionally supplemented with maturation factors. In another example, n-butyrate is added to human embryonic stem cells in feeder-free culture. Either way, a remarkably uniform cell population is obtained, which is predominated by cells with morphological features of hepatocytes, expressing surface markers characteristic of hepatocytes, and having enzymatic and biosynthetic activity important for liver function. Since stem cells readily proliferate in culture, this system provides an abundant source of cells of the hepatocyte lineage for a variety of applications, such as drug screening, and replenishing liver function in the context of clinical treatment.
149 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method of screening a compound for its effect on hepatocytes or a hepatocyte activity, comprising:
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a) combining the compound with a cell population obtained by differentiating primate pluripotent stem (pPS) cells, wherein at least ˜
60% of cells in the population have at least three of the following characteristics;
antibody-detectable expression of α
1-antitrypsin (AAT);
antibody-detectable expression of albumin;
absence of antibody-detectable expression of α
-fetoprotein;
RT-PCR detectable expression of asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGR);
ability to store glycogen;
cytochrome p450 activity;
glucose-6-phosphatase activity;
orthe morphological features of hepatocytes;
b) determining any change to cells in the population or their activity that results from being combined with the compound; and
c) correlating the change with the effect of the compound on hepatocytes or a hepatocyte activity. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
an organic solvent selected from the group consisting of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), dimethylacetamide (DMA);
hexmethylene bisacetamide, and other polymethylene bisacetamides;
ora cytokine or hormone selected from the group consisting of glucocorticoids, epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulin, TGF-α
, TGF-β
, fibroblast growth factor (FGF), heparin, and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), IL-1, IL-6, IGF-I, IGF-II, and HBGF-1.
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27. The method of claim 1, comprising providing the cell population with which the compound is subsequently combined.
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28. The method of claim 1, comprising differentiating an hES cell line to obtain the cell population with which the compound is subsequently combined.
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2. A method of screening a compound for its effect on hepatocytes or a hepatocyte activity, comprising:
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a) combining the compound with a cell population obtained by differentiating primate pluripotent stem (pPS) cells in a medium containing butyrate or an inhibitor of histone deacetylase;
b) determining any change to cells in the population or their activity that results from being combined with the compound; and
c) correlating the change with the effect of the compound on hepatocytes or a hepatocyte activity.
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3. A method of screening a compound for its effect on hepatocytes or a hepatocyte activity, comprising:
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a) combining the compound with a cell population containing cells that have the same genome as an established human embryonic stem (hES) cell line, wherein at least 60% of cells in the population have at least three of the following characteristics;
antibody-detectable expression of α
1-antitrypsin (AAT);
antibody-detectable expression of albumin;
absence of antibody-detectable expression of α
-fetoprotein;
RT-PCR detectable expression of asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGR);
ability to store glycogen;
cytochrome p450 activity;
glucose-6-phosphatase activity;
orthe morphological features of hepatocytes;
b) determining any change to cells in the population or their activity that results from being combined with the compound; and
c) correlating the change with the effect of the compound on hepatocytes or a hepatocyte activity.
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Specification