ACTC - Advanced Cell Technology

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Advanced Cell Technology Demonstrates Efficient Generation of Functional Hepatocytes (Liver Cells) From Human Embryonic Stem Cells
(Business Wire 02/21 09:00:01)

Business Editors / Biotech Writers

WORCESTER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)----
Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (OTCBB: ACTC) reported today for
the first time a robust and highly efficient process for the
generation of high-purity hepatocytes (liver cells). The research,
described online (ahead of print) in the journal STEM CELLS, signifies
a significant step towards the efficient generation of hepatocytes for
use in regenerative medicine and drug discovery. Moreover, the
research represents another one of Advanced Cell Technology's efforts
aimed at the large-scale differentiation of human embryonic stem cells
(hESCs) into critical replacement cell types. In addition to
demonstrating the efficient generation of hepatocytes in research
published today, the company has made significant progress in the
generation of retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells to treat
retinal degenerative diseases and the generation of hemangioblasts to
treat vascular disease as well as to create a large-scale and
donorless source of red blood cells and platelets.

Two hallmarks of embryonic stem cells, their versatility and
capacity for unlimited self renewal, suggest the cells could serve as
a potentially inexhaustible source of cells for replacement therapy.
As with other tissues, there is a scarcity of donor livers and
hepatocytes, which is compounded by the low recovery and proliferative
capacity of adult hepatocytes. In addition to the cells' potential use
for the treatment of liver disease, hESC-derived hepatocytes could
also provide a valuable model for novel pharmaceutical drug discovery
assays as well as new drug metabolism and cytotoxicity screens,
particularly because the liver is a major site for detoxification.

"We have established a highly-efficient method for deriving
hepatocytes from stem cells that mirrors events in embryonic
development," said Robert Lanza, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer at
Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. and senior author of the study. "Large
scale production of hepatocytes using this method should greatly
bolster their applications in basic research, clinical medicine and
preclinical drug discovery."

The method reported yielded synchronous populations of hepatocytes
that were generated in clinically preferred conditions with minimum
use of serum and cell feeders. Highly enriched populations of
definitive endoderm (DE) were generated from hESCs and then induced to
differentiate along the hepatic lineage by the sequential addition of
inducing factors implicated in physiological hepatogenesis. The
differentiation process was largely uniform with cell cultures
progressively expressing increasing numbers of hepatic lineage
markers. The hepatocytes exhibited functional hepatic characteristics
such as glycogen storage, indocyanine green uptake and release, and
albumin secretion. In an animal model of acute liver injury, the
hESC-DE cells differentiated into hepatocytes and successfully
repopulated the damaged liver.

"I am delighted with the tremendous progress our scientists are
making to generate a variety of important functional cells types and
refine our cell differentiation process," stated William M. Caldwell
IV, CEO and Chairman of Advanced Cell Technology. "These cells have
the potential to benefit many Americans suffering from serious and
potentially life-threatening diseases with few if any alternatives. We
are committed to developing new methods to help translate our stem
cell technology into the clinic and are seeking partners for some of
our newest scientific advances."