It creates an “artificial brain on a plate” that matures “just like the human brain” and can shed light on diseases such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia
- Organoids are simplified and miniature versions of real organs grown in the laboratory
- They are made from stem cells with the potential to form different types of cells
- Brain organoids have already helped experts learn about autism and epilepsy
- However, it was thought that they would not develop beyond the fetal stage
- This meant that organoids were not suitable for studying diseases in adults such as dementia
- But experts have shown that they can mature and follow an internal clock like ours
A “brain on a plate” grown from stem cells in the lab can develop “just like a human brain,” and can help illuminate conditions like Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.
Researchers in the United States performed extensive genetic analyzes of so-called “organoids” that allowed them to grow in experimental dishes for up to 20 months.
They found that artificial brains appear to grow in phases according to an internal clock, which coincides with the development of real children’s brains.
The findings suggest that organoids are able to develop beyond a “fetal” stage, contrary to what was previously assumed.
With this in mind, brain organoids could mature to such an extent that scientists can use them to investigate adult-onset diseases such as dementia.
A brain organoid (pictured) grown from stem cells in the lab can develop “just like a human brain” and can help illuminate situations such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.
U.S. researchers conducted extensive genetic analysis of so-called “organoids” that allowed them to grow in experimental dishes for up to 20 months
“So far, no one has grown and characterized these organoids during this time,” said the author and neurologist of the article Daniel Geschwind of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
“Nor is it shown that they will recapitulate the development of the human brain in a laboratory for the most part.”
‘This will be a major boost for the field. We have shown that these organoids can mature and replicate many aspects of normal human development, making them a good model for studying human diseases on a plate, ”he said.
In their study, the team created their brain organoids using so-called induced pluripotent stem cells, which are capable of giving rise to many different cell types.
The stem cells themselves were derived from skin and blood cells that were reprogrammed again in an embryonic state.
When subjected to the right mix of chemicals in a proper environment, stem cells grow into brain cells and organize to produce three-dimensional structures that faithfully replicate certain aspects of the development of real human brains.
Researchers are interested in culturing organoids from stem cells, as they have the potential to revolutionize the way we investigate how complex organs, such as the brain, develop and respond to disease.
In fact, scientists are already using human brain organoids to study neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, epilepsy, and schizophrenia.
Until now, however, it was assumed that cells in the form of organoids could not develop beyond a state equivalent to that seen during fetal development, limiting the extent to which these models could be used.
The findings of this new study suggest that, in fact, it might be possible to grow organoid cells to such great maturity that researchers could also study diseases that appear during adulthood, such as dementia and ‘schizophrenia.
“There is a great deal of interest in human disease stem cell models,” Dr. Geschwind said.
“So far, no one has grown and characterized these organoids during this time,” said UCLA author and neurologist Daniel Geschwind. “Nor are they shown to recap the development of the human brain in a laboratory environment for the most part” In the image, an organoid
“This work represents an important milestone in showing which aspects of human brain development are modeled with maximum fidelity and which specific genes behave well in vitro and when it is best to model them.”
“Equally important, we provide a framework based on unbiased genomic analysis to assess the extent to which in vitro models model development and function in vivo.”
“We show that these 3D brain organoids follow an internal clock, which progresses in a laboratory environment in parallel with what happens inside a living organism,” said paper author and biologist Aaron Gordon. also from UCLA.
“This is a remarkable finding: we show that they reach postnatal maturity in about 280 days in culture and then begin to model aspects of the child’s brain, including known physiological changes in neurotransmitter signaling.”
The full findings of the study were published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.