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Gong Y, Danoy M, Kido T, Mitsuhashi K, Choi H, Matsugi T, Yang J, Esashika K, Takahashi J, Nishikawa M, Ito T, Miyajima A, Sakai Y. Optimization of physical microenvironment to maintain the quiescence of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatic stellate cells. Biotechnol Bioeng 2023. [PMID: 37401657 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023]
Abstract
Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play a crucial role in liver fibrosis by producing excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) following chronic inflammation. However, studying HSC function has been challenging due to the limited availability of primary human quiescent HSCs (qHSCs) in vitro, and the fact that primary qHSCs quickly activate when cultured on plastic plates. Advances in stem cell technology have allowed for the generation of qHSCs from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) with the potential to provide an unlimited source of cells. However, differentiated quiescent-like HSCs (iqHSCs) also activate spontaneously on conventional plastic plates. In this study, we generated iqHSCs from hiPSCs and developed a culture method to maintain such iqHSCs in a lowly activated state for up to 5 days by optimizing their physical culture microenvironment. We observed that three-dimensional (3D) culture of iqHSCs in soft type 1 collagen hydrogels significantly inhibited their spontaneous activation in vitro while maintaining their ability to convert to activated state. Activation of iqHSC was successfully modeled by stimulating them with the fibrotic cytokine TGFβ1. Hence, our culture method can be used to generate HSCs with functions comparable to those in a healthy liver, facilitating the development of accurate in vitro liver models for identifying novel therapeutic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya Gong
- Department of Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Mathieu Danoy
- Department of Chemical System Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Taketomo Kido
- Institute of Quantitative Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kento Mitsuhashi
- Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hyunjin Choi
- Department of Chemical System Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | | | | | | | - Masaki Nishikawa
- Department of Chemical System Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Taichi Ito
- Department of Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Chemical System Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Atsushi Miyajima
- Institute of Quantitative Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yasuyuki Sakai
- Department of Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Chemical System Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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