Characterization of liver zonation‐like transcriptomic patterns in HLCs derived from hiPSCs in a microfluidic biochip environment

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Characterization of the proteome and metabolome of human liver sinusoidal endothelial-like cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells

International audienceThe liver is a complex organ composed of several cell types organized hierarchically. Among these, liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) are specialized vascular cells known to interact with hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), and to be involved in the regulation of important hepatic processes in healthy and pathological situations. Protocols for the differentiation of LSECs from human induced pluripotent stem cells, hiPSCs, have been proposed and in-depth analysis by transcriptomic profiling of those cells has been performed. In the present work, an extended analysis of those cells in terms of proteome and metabolome has been implemented. The proteomic analysis confirmed the expression of important endothelial markers and pathways. Among them, the expression of patterns typical of LSECs such as PECAM1, VWF, LYVE1, STAB1 (endothelial markers), CDH13, CDH5, CLDN5, ICAM1, MCAM-CD146, ICAM2, ESAM (endothelial cytoskeleton), NOSTRIN, NOS3 (Nitric Oxide endothelial ROS), ESM1, ENG, MMRN2, THBS1, ANGPT2 (angiogenesis), CD93, MRC1 (mannose receptor), CLEC14A (C-type lectin), CD40 (antigen), and ERG (transcription factor) was highlighted. Besides, the pathway analysis revealed the enrichment of the endocytosis, Toll-like receptor, Nod-like receptor, Wnt, Apelin, VEGF, cGMP-PCK, and PPAR related signaling pathways. Other important pathways such as vasopressin regulated water reabsorption, fluid shear stress, relaxin signaling, and renin secretion were also highlighted. At confluence, the metabolome profile appeared consistent with quiescent endothelial cell patterns. The integration of both proteome and metabolome datasets revealed a switch from fatty acid synthesis in undifferentiated hiPSCs to a fatty oxidation in LSECs and activation of the pentose phosphate pathway and polyamine metabolism in hiPSCs-derived LSECs. In conclusion, the comparison between the signature of LSECs differentiated following the protocol described in this work, and data found in the literature confirmed the particular relevance of these cells for future in vitro applications

Influence of CPM-dependent sorting on the multi-omics profile of hepatocyte-like cells matured in microscale biochips

International audienceLiver modeling in disease via advanced in vitro physiological tissues remains a challenging issue, yet crucial for the future development of relevant tools for drug screening. In that regard, advanced technics such as human induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSCs) and organ-on-chip are promising technologies for the relevant reproduction of the in vivo micro physiology in in vitro culture conditions. In the present work, the maturation of carboxypeptidase M positive (CPM+) Hepatocyte-Like-Cells (HLCs) in microfluidic culture conditions was investigated. hiPSCs were differentiated in culture dishes until sorting and further amplified until seeding in biochips. After 2 weeks of maturation in biochips, evaluation of the cell metabolism was performed, and samples were collected for characterization via RNA sequencing, proteomics and metabolomics. The omics profile of biochips loaded with CPM+ HLCs was then compared with the one of previously cultured biochips loaded with unsorted HLCs. CPM+ HLCs presented advanced liver characteristics in terms of a higher activity of important Transcriptions Factors (TFs) such as HNF1, HNF4A, and CEBP/A, of the upregulation of steroids/corticoids-related nuclear receptors (FXR, NR3C2, NR4A1 genes), of phase I, and phase II metabolism genes (CYP1A1, CYP1B1, CYP2C18, CYP27A1, several UGT, SULT and GST genes). Further differences in the cellular reorganization, in the lipids and steroids metabolisms, in the OXPHOS respiration and in the expression of TGFβ signaling were also observed. The present study introduces a novel protocol using advances hiPSCs differentiation and sorting methods as well as the organ-on-chip technology to highlight important in vitro liver regeneration and hepatic maturation processes