Human pluripotent stem cells in understanding genetic cardiovascular disease and effects of drugs

NIH Director ’ s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series There's a growing interest in how the derivation of many different cell types from human pluripotent stem cells-embryonic stem cells (HESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPS cells)-could be used for potential cell therapy and as a platform for drug discovery and toxicity. In particular, new methods of introducing specific disease mutations into human pluripotent stem cells and/or reprogramming them to derive hiPS cells, allow the creation of disease models " in a dish " so scientists can study ways to treat diseases or slow them down. To move the field forward, it's essential that scientists understand the underlying developmental mechanisms that control differentiation of pluripotent cells to their derivatives and mimic these in conditions in vitro. The Mummery lab has used these methods to produce isogenic pairs of hiPSC lines to compare diseased and corresponding control cardiomyocytes and vascular endothelial cells and identify disease-related phenotypes and mechanisms. The lab has also examined how hESC-derived cardiomyocytes respond to a variety of cardiac and non-cardiac drugs and has shown that iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes with mutations in ion-channel genes can accurately predict changes in cardiac electrical properties and reveal drug sensitivities. Dr. Mummery will describe similar studies that use vascular endothelial cells from hPSC and discuss the appropriate bioassays to measure disease phenotypes. Fo...
Source: Videocast - All Events - Category: Journals (General) Tags: Upcoming Events Source Type: video