MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Geron Corporation (Nasdaq:GERN) announced today that it has developed standardized hepatocytes from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) that can model human hepatic drug metabolism. Published in Cloning and Stem Cells (Vol. 9, No. 1, 51-62), a paper written by Geron’s scientific collaborators at the Roslin Institute describes an improved procedure to differentiate hepatocytes that exhibit characteristic hepatocyte morphology and express several hepatocyte markers, including albumin and HepPar1. The hESC-derived hepatocytes also possess functional activities, including p450 metabolism, albumin production, glycogen storage and uptake and excretion of indocyanine green, that are characteristic of normal human liver function.
