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Project

In vitro model using human skin stem cells to test drugs for advanced fatty liver disease (BRGEOZ412)

Fatty liver disease related to metabolic disorders (MAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease, affecting more than a quarter of the world's population. The rise of this disease is strongly linked to an unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle and the increasing prevalence of type II diabetes,
obesity, metabolic syndrome or other metabolic problems. The disease runs a dormant course and in a subgroup of patients it can evolve into non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), in which inflammation occurs in addition to fatty liver. NASH is the tipping point for serious phases of MAFLD with an increased risk of complications, for example cardiovascular ones.
related to the heart and blood vessels. More than a quarter of patients with NASH develop fibrosis, or stiffening of the liver, which is accompanied by loss of functional liver mass. The occurrence of fibrosis is therefore the greatest predictor of mortality due to MAFLD-related liver failure. Despite the prevalence and severity of NASH and fibrosis, no cure is available to date. This is largely due to insufficient knowledge of underlying disease mechanisms and a lack of human-relevant models for preclinical research.

With this project, we aim to address this shortcoming by developing a hepatic in vitro model based on human foreskin stem cells (hSKP).

Date:1 Dec 2021 →  30 Nov 2022
Keywords:In vitro model, Fatty Liver Disease
Disciplines:Toxicology and toxinology not elsewhere classified