Sickle cell lines, Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development and use of cell models for Sickle Cell Disease by in vitro differentiation of primary stem cells and the generation of immortalised cell lines from sickle cell patients.
IRAS ID
296705
Contact name
Ioannis Strouboulis
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London School of Medicine
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Inherited hemoglobin disorders, such as sickle cell disease (SCD) have been declared as a world health problem by the World Health Organization in 2008. Specifically, 400,000 children are born annually with SCD. Hemoglobin disorders affect the life span and properties of red blood cells in the circulation of patients, thus leading to several complications ranging from severe anemia and painful vaso-occlusive crisis to organ failure. To date, there is no cure but only treatments to ameliorate the patients’ quality of life, but with serious side effects. Therefore, further studies are required to understand the mechanisms behind the changes in the properties and the ultimate loss of red blood cells in SCD. In this project we will collect stem cells from sickle cell patients and we will use them to generate red blood cells in the lab in order to study their altered properties compared to healthy cells. We will also use the stem cells from sickle patients to generate immortalised cell lines which can be propagated as red blood cells indefinitely in the lab. These cells will be extremely useful as tools to investigate in detail the mechanisms behind red cell defects in SCD and to test new treatments. We will also use these cells in dissecting the genetic basis for SCD severity in patients.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
21/WS/0117
Date of REC Opinion
22 Sep 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion