Establishment of In Vitro Brain Models for AON Delivery.

Elena Daoutsali,Ronald A M Buijsen

doi:10.1007/978-1-0716-2010-6_17

Elena Daoutsali, Ronald A M Buijsen

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2010-6_17

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Abstract

Progress in stem cell biology has made it possible to generate human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) that can be differentiated into complex, three-dimensional structures, where the cells are spatially organized. To study brain development, Lancaster and colleagues developed an hiPSC-derived three-dimensional organoid culture system, termed cerebral organoids, that develop various discrete, although interdependent, brain regions. Here we describe in detail the generation of cerebral organoids using a modified version of the culture protocol.

Highlights

Many brain disorders are hereditary diseases with a known genetic cause, which allowed scientists to generate animal models to study disease progression, understand disease mechanisms, and perform therapeutic intervention studies [1, 2]
(1) mice are different from humans, and it is difficult to translate results from animal experiments into clinical application; (2) the genetic cause of many diseases is not yet known; (3) many disease-causing genes are mainly expressed in the cells that are affected; (4) for many of them, there are nomouse models available; (5) there is governmental and public pressure to advance the development of alternative model systems to replace animal studies
This emphasizes the need for patient-derived disease models that bridge the translational gap between animal models and human clinical trials

Summary

Introduction

Many brain disorders are hereditary diseases with a known genetic cause, which allowed scientists to generate animal models to study disease progression, understand disease mechanisms, and perform therapeutic intervention studies [1, 2]. (1) mice are different from humans, and it is difficult to translate results from animal experiments into clinical application; (2) the genetic cause of many diseases is not yet known; (3) many disease-causing genes are mainly expressed in the cells that are affected; (4) for many of them, there are no (humanized-)mouse models available; (5) there is governmental and public pressure to advance the development of alternative model systems to replace animal studies This emphasizes the need for patient-derived disease models that bridge the translational gap between animal models and human clinical trials. Progress in stem cell biology has made it possible to generate human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) [3] that can be differentiated into the important cell types of the brain, neurons, and astrocytes [4, 5] The disadvantage of these 2D models is that they are descriptive at a cellular level, but they fail to adequately provide the details that could be derived from a more complex, three-dimensional structure, where the cells are spatially organized. Organoids can be used for many different purposes including disease modeling, studying disease mechanisms, or analyzing therapeutic interventions (using for example antisense oligonucleotides) at any given time point

Neurosphere medium

Brain organoid medium

Neuroectodermal Differentiation

Neurosphere Embedding

Cryosectioning and Immunofluorescent Staining