New hepatic stellate cell subset drives liver fibrosis

A team including University of Edinburgh and Gilead researchers has used single-cell sequencing to zero in on a pathogenic subpopulation of hepatic stellate cells that could be targeted to treat liver fibrosis.

Reported in a November Cell Reports article, the research is another sign of the growing momentum around single-cell RNA sequencing techniques. Companies including Celsius Therapeutics Inc., Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; SIX:NOVN) and Decibel Therapeutics Inc. are using the approach to distinguish between cell types or uncover new ones, and identify more precise drug targets (see “The Next Frontier For Single-cell Analysis”). ...