Abstract
Stem cell-derived brain organoids replicate important stages of the prenatal human brain development and combined with the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology offer an unprecedented model for investigating human neurological diseases including autism and microcephaly. We describe the history and birth of organoids and their application, focusing on cerebral organoids derived from embryonic stem cells and iPSCs. We discuss new insights into organoid-based model of schizophrenia and shed light on challenges and future applications of organoid-based disease model system. This review also suggests hitherto unrevealed potential applications of organoids in combining with new technologies such as nanophotonics/optogenomics for controlling brain development and atomic force microscopy for studying mechanical forces that shape the developing brain.
L. B. Chuye, A. Dimitri, A. Desai, and C. Handelmann are co-first authors.
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Abbreviations
- AFM:
-
Atomic force microscopy
- CNVs:
-
Copy number variations
- ESCs:
-
Embryonic stem cells
- INFS:
-
Integrative nuclear FGFR1 signaling
- iPSCs:
-
Induced pluripotent stem cells
- NCCs:
-
Neural committed cells
- nFGFR1:
-
Nuclear fibroblast growth factor receptor-1
- NPCs:
-
Neural progenitor cells
- SNPs:
-
Single nucleotide polymorphisms
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Chuye, L.B. et al. (2018). Brain Organoids: Expanding Our Understanding of Human Development and Disease. In: Buzanska, L. (eds) Human Neural Stem Cells. Results and Problems in Cell Differentiation, vol 66. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93485-3_8
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