Adult skin stem cell-derived in vitro model of hepatic steatosis
Commonly used acronym: Steatosis model
Scope of the method
- Human health
- Translational - Applied Research
- In vitro - Ex vivo
- Human derived cells / tissues / organs
Description
- Stem cells
- differentiation
- Gene expression
- in vitro
- Lipids
- Steatosis
- liver
- NAFLD
- metabolic syndrome
- lifestyle
- hepatology
Human skin-derived adult stem cells differentiated towards hepatic cells (hSKP-HPC) are used in this method (R. M. Rodrigues et al., Stem Cells Dev. 23, 44–55 (2014)). These cells are exposed to a cocktail of insulin and glucose at certain concentrations. After 24h of exposure, these cells exhibit a strong induction of lipogenic genes and accumulate neutral lipids. Using this model, potential new anti-steatotis and anti-non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) drugs can be tested for their anti-steatotic potentials. The read-outs for this in vitro disease model are (i) gene expression analysis and (ii) neutral lipids quantification.
- Biosafety cabinet;
- Flow-cytometer;
- RT-qPCR;
- Cell culture equipment.
- Still in development
Pros, cons & Future potential
- Fast (24h);
- Human-relevant.
Lipid load is only +/- 1.5 -2 x fold higher in the steatosis condition vs the control condition
Addition of other sugars
The main application is located in preclinical drug testing
References, associated documents and other information
R. M. Rodrigues et al., Stem Cells Dev. 23, 44–55 (2014). R. M. Rodrigues et al., Arch. Toxicol. 90, 677–689 (2016)
Contact person
Joost BoeckmansOrganisations
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences
In Vitro Toxicology and Dermato-Cosmetology
Belgium
Brussels Region