In the 1970s and 1980s, the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS resulted in an estimated 2,400 deaths of HIV- and hepatitis C-infected patients.1 Government officials have confirmed that survivors of the contaminated blood scandal will receive interim payments of £100,000 this week.2
People with bleeding disorders and those with haemophilia contracted these infections through blood products in the 1970s. Despite this, it wasn't until this year (2022), after more than 3,000 people died, that compensation payments began. Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver, and if left untreated, it can lead to liver scarring, also called cirrhosis. In severe cases, it can lead to liver failure or liver cancers; unfortunately, no treatment is available.
Better screening in clinical settings and research are needed to avoid repeat of such incidents. Knowing the source of biological and therapeutic materials used in the clinic is essential for patients. To ensure the safety and reliability of our products, we test our high-quality cells for HIV-1, HIV-2, Hepatitis-A, Hepatitis-B, Hepatitis-C and mycoplasma. Furthermore, we integrate sequencing and bioinformatics as essential quality control to enable microbial species identification.
The blood scandal though a tragedy is also an opportunity to learn how these viruses affect different individuals. Our human population shows a variable response to infections and treatments because of our gender, nutrition, health and ethnicity. Some of the individuals exposed to these contaminated samples remained unaffected by the hepatitis C virus. The individuals showing resistance even after exposure opened a window for research to examine the factors involved in disease development and progression. But, obtaining tissues from internal organs such as the liver and heart for research is challenging.
Stemnovate's induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have huge potential to model liver diseases. We work on reprogramming cells; this Noble prize winning technology allows skin cells from biopsies or blood cells to form stem cells ethically without using embryos. So induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are an excellent tool for creating liver cells. These cells can be generated directly from patients with specific diseases and model the natural progression of the disease in vitro, thus making them an ideal tool to model liver diseases.
Stemnovate is working with Prof Cliona O'Farrelly at Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland) to find out why some people can block infection by hepatitis C viruses to understand the progression of Hepatitis C disease and improve treatments.3 Dr O'Farrelly studies women whose immune systems prevent the hepatitis C virus from establishing an infection.4 She recruited groups of women exposed to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) through a contaminated anti-D blood product, which attacks the liver. Unfortunately, many developed hepatitis C, and some could not survive the disease. To understand role of liver in immunity and viral infection variability, Prof Cliona O'Farrelly's teamed up Dr Ruchi Sharma, CEO of Stemnovate and Prof David Hay, Director, Stemnovate and Chair of tissue engineering at the University of Edinburgh.
The Stemnovate team took over the challenge to use white cells from the participant's blood samples and 'reprogram' them to grow as liver cells in the lab, thus avoiding a need for invasive liver biopsies.
Stemnovate is further working in partnership with Prof Cliona to model innate antiviral responses and metabolism on these iPSC-derived liver cells. This work forms a part of PhD and will be published.
Scientific research using iPSCs has the potential to model and improve treatments. With the broader use of sequencing and regulatory stringency, hopefully, there will be no scandal remotely related to infected blood in the future. Nevertheless, it is heartbreaking to lose precious lives, as in these tragic events.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-69027421
References:-
- Boseley S. What is the contaminated blood scandal?. The guardian. 2017.
- Triggle N. Infected blood victims to get £100,000 compensation. bbc. 2022.
- O’Connell C. Hepatitis C: Could this research help us tackle viruses?. siliconrepublic. 2018.
- Liver Immunology: Hepatitis C - School of Biochemistry and Immunology - Trinity College Dublin. Tcd.ie. https://www.tcd.ie/Biochemistry/research/ofarrelly/hepatitisc/. Published 2022. Accessed August 26, 2022