Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Feb 14;109(7):2544-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1121400109. Epub 2012 Jan 30.
Human pathogens impact patient health through a complex interplay with the host, but models to study the role of host genetics in this process are limited. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer the ability to produce host-specific differentiated cells and thus have the potential to transform the study of infectious disease; however, no iPSC models of infectious disease have been described. Here we report that hepatocyte-like cells derived from iPSCs support the entire life cycle of hepatitis C virus, including inflammatory responses to infection, enabling studies of how host genetics impact viral pathogenesis.
人类病原体通过与宿主的复杂相互作用影响患者健康,但用于研究宿主遗传在这一过程中作用的模型却十分有限。人诱导多能干细胞(iPSC)提供了产生宿主特异性分化细胞的能力,因此有可能改变传染病的研究方式;然而,目前还没有关于感染性疾病的 iPSC 模型的报道。在这里,我们报告了源自 iPSC 的肝细胞样细胞支持丙型肝炎病毒的整个生命周期,包括对感染的炎症反应,从而能够研究宿主遗传如何影响病毒发病机制。