Organ-on-a-chip for research into hepatitis B infection
CompanyCN-BIO, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Hepatitis B is one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide, and the inflammation caused by HBV (Hepatitis B virus) can lead to cirrhosis, impaired liver function, and increased risk of liver cancer.
Currently, there are no long-term, high-functioning liver models that replicate the physiological environment required for HBV infection.
CN-Bio is culturing primary human hepatocyte cultures in a liver-on-a-chip model and infecting them with HBV. The infected cells have a survival time of at least 40 days, allowing the entire HBV life cycle to be recapitulated.
Infection with the viral inoculum results in long-term expression of antigens and viral DNA, allowing the anti-HBV response of drugs to be evaluated in a variety of modalities.
The PhysioMimix™ HBV assay shows increased expression of NTCP, the liver bile acid transporter that is critical for the initiation of HBV infection in the liver, which is not the case in 2D models. This assay also provides a greater cumulative increase in HBV surface antigen that better reflects the in vivo environment.
The innate immune system and cytokine responses following infection with HBV are similar to those observed in HBV-infected patients. This allows the study of signalling pathways important for immune evasion and the validation of biomarkers.
How does Hepatitis B virus infection cause human disease?
www.cn-bio.com
Added on: 03-16-2023
[1] https://cn-bio.com/applications/disease-modeling/hepatitis-b/
