Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology has provided previously unanticipated possibilities to model human disease in the culture dish. iPSC disease models could be advantageous in the development of personalized medicine in various parts of disease sectors. To obtain the maximum benefit from iPSCs in disease modeling, Creative Biolabs now focuses on aging, maturation, and metabolism to recapitulate the pathological features seen in patients. The services of disease-specific stem cell therapy development provide various stem cells that correspond to different types of disease.
A variety of tissue sources may be used to develop human cancer iPSC
lines. iPSCs generated from cancerous cells can help us better understand
the molecular mechanisms underlying the initiation and progression of
human cancers and overcome them. Aside from the mechanistic modeling
of human tumorigenesis, immediate applications of iPSC in cancer
research include high-throughput drug screening, toxicological testing,
early biomarker identification, and bioengineering of replacement tissues.
Animal model research has played an important role in deciphering
pathophysiological mechanisms in cardiovascular diseases.
Nowadays, the focus has shifted from animal models to iPSC
disease modeling. The iPSC-derived cells offer an unlimited source
of materials for biomedical study. They can be used to probe
toxicological testing and drug screening, recapitulate complex
physiological phenotypes and clarify the novel mechanistic insights.
Creative Biolabs focuses on different areas of disease
modeling for blood disorders such as the preclinical
modeling of gene therapy of inherited blood diseases,
the modeling of blood cancers, iPSC-derived
blood transfusion products (red blood cells,
platelets) and immune cells for immunotherapy.
Neurological disorders have benefited the most from iPSC-disease
modeling for its capability for generating disease-relevant cell types
in vitro
from the central nervous system, such as neurons and glial
cells, otherwise only available from post-mortem samples.
Patient-specific iPSC-derived neural cells can recapitulate the
phenotypes of these diseases and therefore, considerably enrich our
understanding of pathogenesis, disease mechanism and facilitate
the development of drug screening platforms for novel therapeutic
targets. Up to date, neurological disease models using this strategy
have included Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease (PD),
Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia (SCZH) and so forth.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease
characterized by β-cell destruction in the pancreas,
insulin deficiency and persistent high blood glucose
levels. One possible solution to the donor shortage
is the generation of β-cells or islet tissues from
iPSCs. The directed differentiation of pancreatic
lineage cells from iPSCs has been vigorously
studied towards a regenerative therapy for type 1
diabetes. iPSC technology also enables the
creation of novel
in vitro
diabetes disease models.
In the case of MD, iPSCs for disease modeling and
identification of involved mechanisms, drug screening, as
well as gene correction commenced in 2008 and continue
to address important issues, such as defining the main
pathologic mechanisms in different types of MDs, drug
screening to improve skeletal/cardiac muscle cell survival
and to slow down disease progression and evaluation of
the efficiency of different gene correction approaches.
Remarkable progress has been made in the generation of
human MD iPSCs-derived myogenic cells
in vitro
. Rapidly
expanding genetic correction methods, such as CRISPR/Cas9
technology, can correct desired mutations related to MD.
Chromosomal rearrangements occur
frequently in humans and maybe
disease-associated. To establish
platforms to develop therapeutics for
these diseases, patient-derived iPSCs
are highly beneficial and they have been
used as valuable tools to recapitulate
abnormal chromosomal diseases to
elucidate disease mechanisms and
develop potential therapies.
Tens of millions of patients are affected by liver
disease worldwide and iPSCs would open up
new opportunities for medical advances in liver
diseases. Generation of hepatocyte-like cells
(HLCs) using iPSC technology may be
beneficial for the treatment of severe liver
diseases, screening of drug toxicities, basic
research of several hepatocytic disorders, and
liver transplantation. Together with novel
technologies of genome editing, we will soon
find applicability for personalized medicine.
In the ophthalmic field, iPSCs or derivatives of iPSCs
present a promising treatment modality. Utilization of
iPSCs as a low immunogenic and patient-specific
source for stem cells to replace damaged or diseased
ocular cells, including corneal epithelial cells,
photoreceptors, and RGCs, could be an excellent way
to restore visual function in otherwise untreatable
conditions. The increasingly improved quality of
iPSC-derived retinal pigment epithelium cells and
photoreceptors has resulted in the first clinical trial in
the ocular field.
Metabolic diseases are categorized as inborn errors of
metabolism (IEM) and acquired metabolic syndrome.
They often disrupt normal cellular processes in the
heart and result in cardiac dysfunction, life-threatening
arrhythmias, and ultimately increased mortality. In
recent years, iPSC technology has provided
investigators a new methodology to model
pathophysiology of metabolic diseases and thereby
identify novel therapeutic targets.
iPSC-based disease modeling and the cell
replacement therapy approach have proven to be very
powerful and instrumental in biomedical research and
personalized regenerative medicine for several
diseases and disorders which are not limited to the 10
diseases just mentioned. Our comprehensive
protocols, tools and services are designed to help
researchers overcome many challenges of genome
editing using primary and stem cells to construct
human disease models.
iPSCs are being used to develop patient-specific therapies and are successful for many diseases. In terms of our well-established disease-specific stem cell therapy development services , scientists at Creative Biolabs are confident in offering high-quality disease modeling solutions to assist your valuable projects.
