Liver Organoid Research Presented at ACH2 Workshop
L-R: Julie Nigro, Prasangi Pelpola and Jacki Yu from Professor Kumar Visvanathan’s Immunology Research Centre
Staff from the Immunology Research Centre at St Vincent's Hospital presented their research at the Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis 13th Annual Workshop in the Yarra Valley, 6-8 June 2018.
Julie Nigro and Jackie Yu presented their research on liver organoids and their work with 3-dimensional models of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection.
Their research transforms liver biopsies, donated from CHB patients, into 3D mini-liver models which can be tested with new and developing therapies to determine which combinations will most effective to deliver a “cure”.
All currently considered endpoints such as a loss of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and destruction of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), can be assessed with the mini-livers.
The development of a living human model of CHB enables tailored, patient-specific treatment to improve health outcomes and survival.
The workshop included a new session focussed on human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) which affects 45% of the Aboriginal community.
International speakers featured at the workshop included Associate Professor Andres Finzi from the Universite de Montreal, Canada, and Professor Jens Bukh from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.