NCE

We have successfully achieved the major aim of this grant, which was to develop a new human embryonic stem (hES) cell line in which a fluorescent molecule is attached to a protein found in mature liver cells. This protein is responsible for metabolizing the majority of drugs currently in the market, so it is critical to understand the effect that different drugs have on the function of this protein so that drug-induced liver toxicity, which is the leading cause of liver failure in the US, can be reduced. We have done extensive validation of this cell line tool, and we are currently in the process of developing it into an assay system for screening compounds for drug-induced liver toxicity effects. There is a great need for this type of assay since there is currently an absence of a robust model of human drug metabolism in the liver. As part of this development, we have also done extensive work optimizing the generation of liver cells from hES cells. We now can differentiate hES cells into nearly pure populations of cells that are precursors to liver cells and we are currently using our new cell line to facilitate testing new methods to enhance the maturation of these precursors into hES-derived liver cells. The combination of using our new cell line tool in an optimized protocol for generating hES-derived liver cells will hopefully result in a clinically predictive drug screening system that will allow earlier detection of drug-induced liver toxicity, decreased pre-clinical animal testing, and increased drug safety. We are committed to aggressively continuing this work even beyond the close of this grant funding to achieve the goal of a human cell-based, clinically predictive liver toxicity drug screening system.