HIGHLY FUNCTIONAL LIVER CELLS DERIVED FROM PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS, METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAME, AND METHOD FOR TESTING METABOLISM/TOXICITY OF DRUG

摘要

Functional hepatocytes that can be used for testing metabolism and toxicity of a drug are produced from pluripotent stem cells. A method of producing highly functional hepatocytes using pluripotent stem cells by preparing pluripotent stem cell-derived primitive endoderms from pluripotent stem cells by a method including the steps (A) and (B); preparing liver progenitor cells from the pluripotent stem cell-derived primitive endoderms by a method including the step (C); and preparing highly functional hepatocytes from the liver progenitor cells by a method including the step (D), (A) culture under serum-free and feeder-free conditions; (B) culture in the presence of albumin and at least one cytokine; (C) culture in the presence of SHH or an SHH agonist and at least one cytokine; and (D) culture to promote maturity in the presence of at least one cytokine.