Topic: human embryonic stem cells

The transcriptional co-activator Yes-associated protein-1 (YAP) and its paralog WW domain-containing transcription regulator 1 (WWTR1, TAZ) are known to regulate organ size, proliferation, and stem cell signaling in multiple tissue systems. However, their roles in nervous system development and neuronal differentiation have been understudied. Here, we set out to characterize YAP/TAZ expression changes and function in human neurogenesis in a cell lineage-specific and/or developmental stage-specific manner. To this end, YAP and TAZ knockouts were created in human embryonic stem cells using CRISP

Organoids derived from human stem cells present enormous potential to investigate aspects of human brain development. In this study, we hypothesised that brain organoids represent a suitable method for studying the shift in GABAergic transmission, from excitatory to inhibitory, during development. As several anaesthetics act via GABA receptors, we aimed to investigate how the anaesthetic propofol, known to be a GABA-A receptor agonist, may affect neuronal transmission in cerebral brain organoids at different developmental stages. Organoids cultivated from human embryonic stem cells (H1-ESC), w

The autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-associated 16p11.2 gene quinolinate phosphoribosyltransferase (QPRT) is essential for neuronal differentiation but not proliferation of SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. QPRT is part of tryptophan metabolism and catabolizes quinolinic acid (QUIN), a NMDA-R agonist neurotoxic for glutamatergic cells. However, we can exclude a QUIN-driven neurotoxicity in the SH-SY5Y model. In primary human neural progenitor cells, chemical inhibition of QPRT using phthalic acid (PA) leads to premature differentiation and a shift from neurons to astrocytes. Here, we employed cerebra

Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone (CRH) was first identified as a neurohormone secreted by the hypothalamus in response to stressful stimuli. However, large amounts of CRH are also secreted by the placenta of anthropoid primates during pregnancy. Although the role of hypothalamic CRH has been extensively studied, there is a remarkable lack of evidence regarding the role of placental CRH, while the biological significance of its unique expression pattern in anthropoid primates remains elusive. In order to investigate the effects of placental CRH on human brain development and to overcome the limi