VistaGen Therapeutics, a biotechnology company applying stem cell technology for drug rescue, predictive toxicology, and drug metabolism assays, has been scheduled to present key enhancements to LiverSafe 3D™, its human liver cell-based bioassay system designed to predict liver toxicity and drug metabolism issues, in a poster presentation at the Society of Toxicology’s 52nd Annual Meeting today at 2:00pm EDT.
Dr. Kristina Bonham, Senior Scientist, Hepatocyte Biology Project Leader, will present VistaGen’s poster entitled “Selection of CYP3A4+ hESC-derived Hepatocytes for Drug Metabolism and Toxicity Assays,” which will detail the following expanded data:
• 3A4BLA-hepatocytes (human liver cells) can be used to: monitor the differentiation of mature hepatocytes; sort for mature hepatocytes; monitor drug induction of the CYP3A4 gene, the crucial adult enzyme responsible for metabolizing approximately 50% of existing drugs; and develop in vitro assays for drug metabolism and toxicity
• Using appropriate reagents, the 3A4BLA system can be used to select and enrich stem cell-derived functionally mature hepatocytes
“These data demonstrate that we have substantially improved our LiverSafe 3D™ and now have the potential to identify and purify human hepatocytes with more mature functions, as well as provide a novel assay for drugs that effect CYP3A4 enzyme expression, activity and key drug-drug interactions,” H. Ralph Snodgrass, PhD, VistaGen’s President and Chief Scientific Officer, stated. “I am excited by the fact that further improvements in our differentiation protocols have enabled our scientists to produce cultures with more than 80% mature hepatocytes expressing CYP3A4 without cell enrichment, which will dramatically accelerate our initiation of drug rescue programs focusing on both liver and heart toxicity.”
For more information, visit www.VistaGen.com
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