A NEW MODEL TO STUDY INTESTINAL FIBROSIS USING IPSC-DERIVED HUMAN EPITHELIAL AND MESENCHYMAL CELLS FROM CROHN’S DISEASE PATIENTS

Abstract

Intestinal fibrosis is a serious complication of Crohn’s disease (CD) and is caused by the excess deposition of extracellular matrix protein. There are no therapies to prevent or treat this and surgical intervention remains the only treatment option. Numerous cell types, including intestinal epithelial and mesenchymal cells, are implicated in this but research efforts are impaired by a lack of in vitro models. Human intestinal organoids (HIOs), derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), are comprised of both of these cell types; therefore iPSC-derived HIOs represent an approach in which an unlimited number of patient specific cells could be generated for such models. Our goal was to confirm the feasibility of using iPSC-derived epithelial and mesenchymal cells from CD patients to model intestinal fibrosis.