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Publication
What about the host? A possible answer using iPSCs
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| 2.48 MB | Adobe PDF |
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Presently, society and science are reinventing themselves. In the past few years, through an externally financed project (FCT grant PTDC/BIM-MEC/4762/2014), a new line of work emerged in our department of human genetics. The use of iPSCs became a long term objective with the collaboration of PhD students, grantees and others. Efforts were carried out to generate differentiated cells from Gaucher (Duarte et al., 2019) and Fabry disease (Duarte et al., 2020). The aim of this line of work was to establish cell models for the study of Lysosomal Storage Disorders (LSDs).
Cell models are one of the best applications of iPSCs as they can be an alternative to animal models while bearing the donor’s genetic background. However, their use in the study of pathogenesis of rare diseases is also complemented by their use in toxicity studies, regenerative medicine and even clinical trials. Considering the present need for reinvention, it is easy to see that once the pandemic is under control there will be a multitude of aspects that will urge societal and scientific intervention.
Focusing on the helpfulness of iPSCs, it is possible to envisage new projects of wider application, going beyond genetic disease studies, and being quickly applied to the study of infectious diseases, cell-group susceptibility, individual susceptibility and hastening clinical trials. Using iPSCs to study the host’s response to infection will certainly become an important application of iPSCs.
Description
Keywords
Human Genetics iPSCs Human Disease Cell Models Infectious Disease Susceptibility to Disease COVID-19 Doenças Genéticas