2021/05/20
Keio University School of Medicine
The Kitasato Institute
Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED)
A joint research group led by Professor Toshiro Sato and Assistant Professor Shinya Sugimoto of The Sakaguchi Laboratory (Organoid Medicine) at the Keio University School of Medicine; Project Assistant Professor Toshiki Koya and Senior Lecturer Hiroyuki Yasuda of the Department of Internal Medicine (Pulmonology) at the same university; and Professor Kazuhiko Katayama of the Omura Satoshi Memorial Institute (Virology) at Kitasato University has developed a technology to efficiently propagate human alveolar cells, the primary site of SARS-CoV-2 infection, using organoid culture technology. They have successfully established an evaluation system to determine the efficacy of therapeutic drugs for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
COVID-19 is an emerging infectious disease that has been raging worldwide since its outbreak was first confirmed in Wuhan, China, in 2019. However, the development of therapeutic drugs has been challenging. This is partly due to the limitation that normal human alveolar cells, which are the primary site of SARS-CoV-2 infection and are involved in the progression to severe illness, can only be cultured in vitro for a short period, making it impossible to use them to evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic drugs.
In this study, the research group established a method for efficiently and long-term culturing of human tissue-derived alveolar cells using organoid generation technology. They successfully constructed an evaluation system by infecting alveolar organoids with SARS-CoV-2, administering candidate therapeutic drugs, and then measuring the viral load over time to determine their therapeutic efficacy.
By establishing a culture method for normal human alveolar cells, the method developed in this study reproduces the state of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the alveoli in vitro, allowing for the direct confirmation of the efficacy of therapeutic drugs. It is expected to be useful for future elucidation of the pathophysiology and development of therapeutic drugs for various respiratory infectious diseases that cause pneumonia, including COVID-19.
The results of this research were published in the online edition of the American scientific journal "Cell Reports" on May 19, 2021 (US Eastern Time).
Please see below for the full press release.