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Mini test tube brains mature like those of children

2021-02-24T13:25:23.024Z


The mini-brains obtained in the laboratory from human stem cells mature following an internal clock that marks the same developmental rhythm of the human brain (ANSA)


The mini-brains obtained in the laboratory from human stem cells mature following an internal clock that marks the same pace of development as the human brain: this is demonstrated by an extensive genetic analysis conducted by researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles (Ucla) and Stanford University.

The results, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, confirm that these organoids are valid models for the study of neurological diseases such as schizophrenia and dementia.

Until now, their use as 'living laboratories' on which to do research had been held back by the widespread belief that their cells remained stuck in a stage of development similar to the fetal one and that therefore they could not be suitable for studying some neurological disorders that arise in age. adulthood, such as schizophrenia or dementia.

To test this hypothesis, the researchers created 3D human mini-brains from adult cells (taken from the skin or blood), then reprogrammed to become 'little girls' (induced pluripotent stem cells) and differentiated into brain cells thanks to a cocktail of molecules.

During the 20 months of tube maturation, the organoids were genetically examined to monitor which genes were turned on or off in their cells during the various stages of development.

"So far, no one had cultivated and characterized these organoids for such a long time, nor demonstrated that they recapitulate much of the development of the human brain," explains UCLA's Daniel Geschwind.

“We found that these 3D brain organoids follow an internal clock that runs in the laboratory as well as in the living organism,” adds Aaron Gordon of UCLA.

"This is an important result: we have shown that they reach postnatal maturity around 280 days of culture and then begin to reproduce typical aspects of the infant brain, including known physiological changes in cell signaling via neurotransmitters."

Source: ansa

All tech articles on 2021-02-24

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