Highly differentiated human hepatocytes in primary culture

Hepatocytes are isolated from human liver and cultured in a system that allows to maintain a highly differentiated phenotype for several weeks.
In these conditions, hepatocytes are sensitive to hepatitis C virus infection and permissive to viral genome replication.

Interest / Relevance: These cultures can be used to investigate: drug metabolism, drug toxicity, drug side effects, drug-mediate induction or inhibition of metabolism.
These cultures can be used as well for the screening of hepatitis C virus inhibitors.
More generally, these cultures can be used for investigating any aspect of liver physiopathology.

Keywords: hepatocyte, drug metabolism, HCV

Scientist's name: Patrick MAUREL
Lydiane PICHARD,Cédric DURET,Sabine CHALOIN GERBAL,Martine DAUJAT

Publications:

Pichard L, Raulet E, Fabre G, Ferrini JB, Ourlin JC, Maurel P. Human hepatocyte culture. Methods Mol Biol. 2006;320:283-93.

Duret C, Daujat-Chavanieu M, Pascussi JM, Pichard-Garcia L, Balaguer P, Fabre JM, Vilarem MJ, Maurel P, Gerbal-Chaloin S. Ketoconazole and miconazole are antagonists of the human glucocorticoid receptor: consequences on the expression and function of the constitutive androstane receptor and the pregnane X receptor. Mol Pharmacol. 2006 Jul;70(1):329-39.

Molina S, Castet V, Pichard-Garcia L, Wychowski C, Meurs E, Pascussi JM, Sureau C, Fabre JM, SaCunha A, Larrey D, Dubuisson J, Coste J, McKeating J, Maurel P, Fournier-Wirth C. Serum derived HCV infection of primary human hepatocytes is tetraspanin CD81 dependent. J Virol 2008 Jan;82(1):569-74.

Reference:

RT00321