Shintani Tomohiro, Imamura Chiharu, Ueyama-Toba Yukiko, Inui Jumpei, Watanabe Akira, Mizuguchi Hiroyuki
Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev. 2023 Aug 11;30:429-442. doi: 10.1016/j.omtm.2023.08.003. eCollection 2023 Sep 14.
Uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) are highly expressed in the liver and are involved in the metabolism of many drugs. In particular, UGT1A1 has a genetic polymorphism that causes decreased activity, leading to drug-induced hepatotoxicity. Therefore, an evaluation system that accurately predicts the kinetics of drugs involving UGT1A1 is required. However, there is no such evaluation system because of the absence of the UGT1A1-selective inhibitor. Here, using human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, genome editing technology, and organoid technology, we generated UGT1A1-knockout human iPS hepatocyte-derived liver organoids (UGT1A1-KO i-HOs) as a model for UGT1A1-specific kinetics and toxicity evaluation. i-HOs showed higher gene expression of many drug-metabolizing enzymes including UGT1A1 than human iPS cell-derived hepatocyte-like cells (iPS-HLCs), suggesting that hepatic organoid technology improves liver functions. Wild-type (WT) i-HOs showed similar levels of UGT1A1 activity to primary human (cryopreserved) hepatocytes, while UGT1A1-KO i-HOs completely lost the activity. Additionally, to evaluate whether this model can be used to predict drug-induced hepatotoxicity, UGT1A1-KO i-HOs were exposed to SN-38, the active metabolite of irinotecan, an anticancer drug, and acetaminophen and confirmed that these cells could predict UGT1A1-mediated toxicity. Thus, we succeeded in generating model cells that enable evaluation of UGT1A1-specific kinetics and toxicity.
尿苷二磷酸葡萄糖醛酸基转移酶(UGTs)在肝脏中高度表达,参与多种药物的代谢。特别是,UGT1A1存在基因多态性,可导致活性降低,进而引发药物性肝毒性。因此,需要一种能够准确预测涉及UGT1A1的药物动力学的评估系统。然而,由于缺乏UGT1A1选择性抑制剂,目前尚无此类评估系统。在此,我们利用人类诱导多能干细胞(iPS细胞)、基因组编辑技术和类器官技术,生成了UGT1A1基因敲除的人类iPS细胞来源的肝类器官(UGT1A1-KO i-HOs),作为UGT1A1特异性动力学和毒性评估的模型。与人类iPS细胞来源的肝细胞样细胞(iPS-HLCs)相比,i-HOs中包括UGT1A1在内的多种药物代谢酶的基因表达更高,这表明肝脏类器官技术改善了肝功能。野生型(WT)i-HOs的UGT1A1活性水平与原代人类(冷冻保存)肝细胞相似,而UGT1A1-KO i-HOs则完全丧失了该活性。此外,为了评估该模型是否可用于预测药物性肝毒性,将UGT1A1-KO i-HOs暴露于抗癌药物伊立替康的活性代谢产物SN-38和对乙酰氨基酚中,并证实这些细胞能够预测UGT1A1介导的毒性。因此,我们成功生成了能够评估UGT1A1特异性动力学和毒性的模型细胞。