SummaryThe small intestine plays an important role in the absorption and metabolism of oral drugs. In the current evaluation system, it is difficult to predict the precise absorption and metabolism of oral drugs. In this study, we generated small intestinal epithelial-like cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPS-SIECs), which could be applied to drug absorption and metabolism studies. The small intestinal epithelial-like cells were efficiently generated from human induced pluripotent stem cell by treatment with WNT3A, R-spondin 3, Noggin, EGF, IGF-1, SB202190, and dexamethasone. The gene expression levels of small intestinal epithelial cell (SIEC) markers were similar between the hiPS-SIECs and human adult small intestine. Importantly, the gene expression levels of colonic epithelial cell markers in the hiPS-SIECs were much lower than those in human adult colon. The hiPS-SIECs generated by our protocol exerted various SIEC functions. In conclusion, the hiPS-SIECs can be utilized for evaluation of drug absorption and metabolism.
Enterocytes play an important role in drug absorption and metabolism. However, a widely used enterocyte model, Caco-2 cell, has difficulty in evaluating both drug absorption and metabolism because the expression levels of some drug absorption and metabolism-related genes in these cells differ largely from those of human enterocytes. Therefore, we decided to generate the enterocyte-like cells from human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells (hiPS-ELCs), which are applicable to drug absorption and metabolism studies. The efficiency of enterocyte differentiation from human iPS cells was significantly improved by using EGF, SB431542, and Wnt3A, and extending the differentiation period. The gene expression levels of cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) and peptide transporter 1 in the hiPS-ELCs were higher than those in Caco-2 cells. In addition, CYP3A4 expression in the hiPS-ELCs was induced by treatment with 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 or rifampicin, which are known to induce CYP3A4 expression, indicating that the hiPS-ELCs have CYP3A4 induction potency. Moreover, the transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) value of the hiPS-ELC monolayer was approximately 240 Ω*cm2, suggesting that the hiPS-ELC monolayer could form a barrier. In conclusion, we succeeded in establishing an enterocyte model from human iPS cells which have potential to be applied for drug absorption and metabolism studies.
Many drugs have potential to induce the expression of drug-metabolizing enzymes, particularly cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4), in small intestinal enterocytes. Therefore, a model that can accurately evaluate drug-mediated CYP3A4 induction is urgently needed. In this study, we overlaid Matrigel on the human induced pluripotent stem cells-derived enterocyte-like cells (hiPS-ELCs) to generate the mature hiPS-ELCs that could be applied to drug-mediated CYP3A4 induction test. By overlaying Matrigel in the maturation process of enterocyte-like cells, the gene expression levels of intestinal markers (VILLIN, sucrase-isomaltase, intestine-specific homeobox, caudal type homeobox 2, and intestinal fatty acid-binding protein) were enhanced suggesting that the enterocyte-like cells were maturated by Matrigel overlay. The percentage of VILLIN-positive cells in the hiPS-ELCs found to be approximately 55.6%. To examine the CYP3A4 induction potential, the hiPS-ELCs were treated with various drugs. Treatment with dexamethasone, phenobarbital, rifampicin, or 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 resulted in 5.8-fold, 13.4-fold, 9.8-fold, or 95.0-fold induction of CYP3A4 expression relative to that in the untreated controls, respectively. These results suggest that our hiPS-ELCs would be a useful model for CYP3A4 induction test.
A liver-on-a-chip
(liver-chip) is a microfluidic device carrying
liver cells such as human hepatocytes. It is used to reproduce a part
of liver function. Many microfluidic devices are composed of polydimethylsiloxane
(PDMS), which is a type of silicone elastomer. PDMS is easy to process
and suitable for cell observation, but its high hydrophobicity carries
the risk of drug absorption. In this study, we evaluated drug absorption
to the PDMS device and investigated the drug responsiveness of human
hepatocytes cultured in the PDMS device (hepatocyte-chips). First,
the absorption rates of 12 compounds to the PDMS device were measured.
The absorption rates of midazolam, bufuralol, cyclosporine A, and
verapamil were 92.9, 71.7, 71.4, and 99.6%, respectively, but the
other compounds were poorly absorbed. Importantly, the absorption
rate of the compounds was correlated with their octanol/water distribution
coefficient (log D) values (R
2 = 0.76). Next, hepatocyte-chips were used to examine
the response to drugs, which are typically used to evaluate hepatic
functions. Using the hepatocyte-chips, we could confirm the responsiveness
of drugs including cytochrome P450 (CYP) inducers and farnesoid X
receptor (FXR) ligands. We believe that our findings will contribute
to drug discovery research using PDMS-based liver-chips.
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