Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatic cell lines as a new model for host interaction with hepatitis B virus

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K15285
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Gastroenterology
• Research Institution: Tokyo Medical and Dental University
• Principal Investigator: Asahina Yasuhiro 東京医科歯科大学, 大学院医歯学総合研究科, 寄附講座教授 (00422692)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: HBV / Human iPS cell / cccDNA

Outline of Final Research Achievements

HBV is not eradicated by current antiviral therapies due to persistence of HBV cccDNA in host cells, and thus development of novel culture models for productive HBV infection is urgently needed, which will allow the study of HBV cccDNA eradication. To meet this need, we developed culture models of HBV infection using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatocyte lineages, including immature proliferating hepatic progenitor-like cell lines and differentiated hepatocyte-like cells. These cells were susceptible to HBV infection, produced HBV particles, and maintained innate immune responses. This study provides evidence that iPS-derived hepatic cell lines can be utilized for novel HBV culture models with genetic variation to investigate the interactions between HBV and host cells and the development of anti-HBV strategies.

Free Research Field

消化器内科学