Topic: human pluripotent stem cells

Implantation and integration of human neural stem cells (hNSCs) to mouse host brains has been reported by previous studies. We are interested in generating a pre-organised construct from hNSCs that contains progenitors with different cerebral cortical layer identity using 3D printing technologies (Jin et al., Nat Commun 14, 5986 (2023). We optimised a sequential isolation protocol of lower and upper cortical layer specific hNSCs generated from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). We confirmed the ability of these cells to generate neurons of the upper or lower cortical layers both in vitro an

Brain organoids represent a promising technology in neurosciences, due to their capability of resembling salient human brain structural and functional features in vitro. For this reason, they are successfully employed for gaining hitherto insights in human brain. Several brain pathologies – among all, Parkinson’s Disease - are linked to metabolic alterations. However, the ground truth for measuring metabolism in vitro - i.e., platforms such as the Seahorse Analyzer - monitors nutrient consumption at a bulk level, without locally mapping concentration changes. This approach cannot provide an ex

Cell replacement therapy (CRT) holds promise for restoring atrophied tissue in Huntington’s Disease (HD) by replenishing degenerating striatal projection neurons (SPNs). However, the heterogeneous cell compositions resulting from striatal differentiation protocols hinder clinical translation. Standardizing production procedures is essential to ensure the generation of defined and safe cell products. This study aims to devise a novel therapeutic approach for brain tissue regeneration in HD, ensuring the presence of specified SPN progenitors while excluding overly proliferative cell types.Here,

Human brain organoids are 3D self-assembling constructs obtained from human pluripotent stem cells, differentiating, and recapitulating the structural and functional complexity of the human brain. Quantitatively describing the cellular spatial arrangement within these constructs and their morphology is important to assess their structural resemblance to the human brain, and thus effectively demonstrating their ability to recapitulate the brain salient microstructural features. Thanks to pluripotent stem cell technology, brain organoids obtained from cells of healthy and diseased patients will

Current advances allow for efficient generation of neuron, astrocyte and microglia cultures from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). However, monocultures lack physiologically important glia-neuron interactions. We created a protocol to co-culture neurons with astrocytes and microglia to assess the impact of glia on neuronal morphology and recovery under injury conditions. We generated hPSC-derived forebrain neurons, astrocytes and microglia using the STEMdiff™ Forebrain Neuron, Astrocyte and Microglia culture systems, respectively. We maintained neuron-astrocyte co-cultures for one week usi

Midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons in the substantia nigra are selectively degenerated in Parkinson’s disease (PD), leading to motor deficits and a broad range of non-motor symptoms. As no curative treatment currently exists for PD, cell replacement therapy involving the transplantation of dopaminergic neuron precursors into patient brains represents a promising mode of treatment. Several studies have shown a range of transcriptional subtypes that exist among mDA neurons, with implications for their eventual axonal targets and synaptic function. Grafts that contain contaminating cell types su