Characterization of dermal fibroblast-derived iPSCs from a patient with high grade steatosis

A stem cell based in vitro model of NAFLD enables the analysis of patient specific individual metabolic adaptations in response to a high fat diet and AdipoRon interference

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a multifactorial disease. Its development and progression depend on genetically predisposed susceptibility of the patient towards several ‘hits’ that induce fat storage first and later inflammation and fibrosis. Here, we differentiated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from four distinct donors with varying disease stages into hepatocyte like cells (HLCs) and determined fat storage as well as metabolic adaptations after stimulations with oleic acid. We could recapitulate the complex networks that control lipid and glucose metabolism and we identified distinct gene expression profiles related to the steatosis phenotype of the donor. In an attempt to reverse the steatotic phenotype, cells were treated with the small molecule AdipoRon, a synthetic analogue of adiponectin. Although the responses varied between cells lines, they suggest a general influence of AdipoRon on metabolism, transport, immune system, cell stress and signalling.

Summary: A stem cell based in vitro model of NAFLD recapitulates regulatory networks and suggests a steatosis associated phenotype. AdipoRon treatment influences metabolism, immune system, cell stress and signalling.

Generation and characterization of two iPSC lines from human epicardium-derived cells

Human epicardium-derived cells (EPDC) were reprogrammed to generate two iPSC lines, MCDU1i-EPDC and MCDU2i-EPDC, by nucleofection of episomal-based plasmids expressing the reprogramming factors OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, c-MYC, NANOG and LIN28. Pluripotency was confirmed in vitro by immunofluorescence analysis and embryoid body formation. The iPSC lines and the human embryonic stem cell line H1 show a Pearson correlation co-efficient of 0.951 (MCDU1i-EPDC) and 0.937 (MCDU2i-EPDC) as assessed by comparative transcriptome profiling.