1
|
Hendriks D, Brouwers JF, Hamer K, Geurts MH, Luciana L, Massalini S, López-Iglesias C, Peters PJ, Rodríguez-Colman MJ, Chuva de Sousa Lopes S, Artegiani B, Clevers H. Engineered human hepatocyte organoids enable CRISPR-based target discovery and drug screening for steatosis. Nat Biotechnol 2023; 41:1567-1581. [PMID: 36823355 PMCID: PMC10635827 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-023-01680-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
The lack of registered drugs for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is partly due to the paucity of human-relevant models for target discovery and compound screening. Here we use human fetal hepatocyte organoids to model the first stage of NAFLD, steatosis, representing three different triggers: free fatty acid loading, interindividual genetic variability (PNPLA3 I148M) and monogenic lipid disorders (APOB and MTTP mutations). Screening of drug candidates revealed compounds effective at resolving steatosis. Mechanistic evaluation of effective drugs uncovered repression of de novo lipogenesis as the convergent molecular pathway. We present FatTracer, a CRISPR screening platform to identify steatosis modulators and putative targets using APOB-/- and MTTP-/- organoids. From a screen targeting 35 genes implicated in lipid metabolism and/or NAFLD risk, FADS2 (fatty acid desaturase 2) emerged as an important determinant of hepatic steatosis. Enhancement of FADS2 expression increases polyunsaturated fatty acid abundancy which, in turn, reduces de novo lipogenesis. These organoid models facilitate study of steatosis etiology and drug targets.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Delilah Hendriks
- Hubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Jos F Brouwers
- Research Group Analysis Techniques in the Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Avans University of Applied Sciences, Breda, The Netherlands
- Molecular Cancer Research, Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Karien Hamer
- Hubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Maarten H Geurts
- Hubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Léa Luciana
- Hubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Simone Massalini
- The Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Carmen López-Iglesias
- The Maastricht Multimodal Molecular Imaging Institute, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Peter J Peters
- The Maastricht Multimodal Molecular Imaging Institute, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Maria J Rodríguez-Colman
- Molecular Cancer Research, Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | - Benedetta Artegiani
- Hubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- The Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Hans Clevers
- Hubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- The Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- Pharma, Research and Early Development of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Basel, Switzerland.
| |
Collapse
|