Topic: human cerebral organoids

Solute carrier proteins (SLCs) are a vast superfamily of membrane proteins found on organelles and the plasma membrane of cells. Their role is to regulate the flux of a big variety of molecules across membranes and therefore modulate cellular homeostasis and function. In neurons, SLCs influence gene regulation, metabolic functions, and synaptic properties. Indeed, current research indicates that they play a pivotal role in several diseases.Previous published proteomic analyses show that several SLCs are frequently found in the membrane of extracellular vesicles (EVs) obtained from different bi

Abnormal neuronal networks arising from perturbations during early brain development contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders. Mutations and deletions of human Fasciculation and Elongation Protein Zeta 1 (FEZ1) are found in schizophrenia and Jacobsen syndrome patients. However, its roles in human brain development and manifestation of clinical pathological symptoms remain unknown. Here, using human cerebral organoids (hCOs), we observed that FEZ1 expression is turned on early during brain development and is expressed in neuroprogenitor subtypes and immature neurons. Deletion of FEZ1 disrupts

The development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is strongly influenced by genetic factors. To navigate the large number of genes associated with the disorder, recent efforts have been directed towards finding functional convergence among ASD-risk genes. Within the biological processes commonly affected in ASD, cell proliferation is of particular interest, given the occurrence of brain volume anomalies in a significant subset of the ASD population. Since neural stem cells are key players in the expansion of neural cell pools throughout development, we hypothesized that a group of ASD-risk gen