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Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
M.D., School of Medicine, University of Bern, Switzerland
Ph.D., School of Medicine, University of Bern, Switzerland
Postdoc, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA
Cell based therapy for liver disease
Regenerative medicine has been revolutionized by the induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology and a lot of effort is spent in establishing autologous cell therapies. One of the major hurdles of this seemingly straightforward approach is the lack of suitable small animal models to validate the true nature of stem cell derived hepatocytes. Our laboratory has the opportunity to validate these hepatocytes and explore cell-based therapy in recently developed xenotransplantation model (Bissig et al. PNAS 2007). We are further developing novel genomic approaches to program stem cells into hepatocytes or even normal skin cells into hepatocytes (transdifferentiation).
Recent advancements led to a human liver chimerism of 95% and propagation of hepatitis B and C virus in these humanized mice (Bissig et al. Journal of Clinical Investigation 2010). One of the ongoing projects in our lab is the evaluation of a new class of antiviral drugs against viral hepatitis. This is a multicenter, NIH sponsored collaborative effort.
Selected Publications
Bissig KD, Marti U, Solioz M, Forestier M, Zimmermann H, Luthi M, Reichen J (2000) Epidermal growth factor is decreased in liver of rats with biliary cirrhosis but does not act as paracrine growth factor immediately after hepatectomy. Journal of Hepatology 33:275-281.
Multhaup G, Strausak D, Bissig KD, Solioz M (2001) Interaction of the CopZ copper chaperone with the CopA copper ATPase of Enterococcus hirae assessed by surface plasmon resonance. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 288:172-177.
Bissig KD, Wunderli-Ye H, Duda PW, Solioz M (2001) Structure-function analysis of purified Enterococcus hirae CopB copper ATPase: effect of Menkes/Wilson disease mutation homologues. Biochemical Journal 357:217-223.
Bissig KD, Voegelin TC, Solioz M (2001) Tetrathiomolybdate inhibition of the Enterococcus hirae CopB copper ATPase. FEBS Letters 507:367-370.
Bissig KD, La Fontaine S, Mercer JF, Solioz M (2001) Expression of the human Menkes ATPase in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Biological Chemistry 382:711-714.
Bissig KD, Zimmermann A, Bernasch D, Furrer H, Dufour JF (2003) Herpes simplex virus hepatitis 4 years after liver transplantation. Journal of Gastroenterology 38:1005-1008.
Bissig KD, Honer M, Zimmermann K, Summer KH, Solioz M (2005) Whole animal copper flux assessed by positron emission tomography in the Long-Evans cinnamon rat–a feasibility study. BioMetals 18:83-88.
Bissig KD, Le TT, Woods NB, Verma IM (2007) Repopulation of adult and neonatal mice with human hepatocytes: a chimeric animal model. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 104:20507-20511.
Bissig KD, Wieland SF, Tran P, Isogawa M, Le TT, Chisari FV, Verma IM (2010) Human liver chimeric mice provide a model for hepatitis B and C virus infection and treatment. Journal of Clinical Investigation 120:924-930.
Ruiz S, Panopoulos AD, Herrerías A, Bissig KD, Lutz M, Berggren WT, Verma IM, Izpisua Belmonte JC (2011) A high proliferation rate is required for cell reprogramming and maintenance of human embryonic stem cell identity. Current Biology 21:45-52.
Contact Information
Karl-Dimiter Bissig, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center
Baylor College of Medicine
One Baylor Plaza, N1010.07
Houston, Texas 77030, U.S.A.
Tel: (713) 798-1256
E-mail: