ANDRZEJ KRAUZE
Karim Si-Tayeb was looking for a way to make induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from patients with hypercholesterolemia. The INSERM researcher was familiar with cell lines and a mouse model of the disease, “but all those models are lacking something that will give us a better understanding of PCSK9,” a protein involved in regulating cholesterol levels whose gene is mutated in hypercholesterolemia.
iPSCs could give Si-Tayeb a truly patient-centric view. Previously, as a postdoc at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Si-Tayeb had succeeded in generating iPSCs from fibroblasts and blood, but these too had drawbacks. He had to wait months to receive hospital approval for taking skin biopsies, and many patients didn’t want to volunteer.
When he moved to France to join the INSERM lab ...
