Evaluation of the cytotoxic effects of Pereskia gradifolia Haw. and determination of therapeutic efficacy using three-dimensional (3D) cell culture model of liver with Steatosis

• Grant number: 23/03687-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: June 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Ethnopharmacology
• Principal Investigator: João Tadeu Ribeiro-Paes
• Grantee: Lucas Pires Guarnier
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL-ASSIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Assis. Assis , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NASH) is the early stage of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Therapy includes the use of underlying risk factors (dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes) that affect 65% of patients. Pharmacological therapeutic approaches do not act on all pathways involved in the genesis of NASH. Thus, the development of study models aiming at new therapeutic alternatives is essential and pressing. In this context, three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures represent promising alternatives in pathophysiology and screening 8 of new drugs. Among the alternatives for the development of new drugs, medicinal plants stand out, with Pereskia grandifolia Haw. a promising species, considering that it presented good results in animal models. In this scenario, this project proposes the investigation of the therapeutic effects of P. grandifolia in an experimental model of hepatic spheroids. It is intended, at the same time, to evaluate the possible cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of the P. grandifolia extract, as a basic requirement for a possible therapeutic use in liver diseases. To achieve the proposed objectives, a 3D cell culture model of liver cells differentiated from iPS will be standardized. From the 3D culture model, efficacy tests on steatosis and toxicity of the extract on hepatic spheroids will be performed. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MORO, LINCOLN GOZZI; GUARNIER, LUCAS PIRES; AZEVEDO, MAURICIO FOGACA; FRACASSO, JULIA AMANDA RODRIGUES; LUCIO, MARCO AURELIO; DE CASTRO, MATEUS VIDIGAL; DIAS, MARLON LEMOS; LIVERO, FRANCISLAINE APARECIDA DOS REIS; RIBEIRO-PAES, JOAO TADEU. A Brief History of Cell Culture: From Harrison to Organs-on-a-Chip. CELLS, v. 13, n. 24, p. 24-pg., 2024-12-01. (23/05446-9, 20/09702-1, 23/03687-9)