After decades of relative neglect, star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes are getting their due. To gather insight into a critical aspect of brain development, a team of scientists examined the maturation of astrocytes in 3-D structures grown in culture dishes to resemble human brain tissue. The study, which confirms the lab-grown cells develop at the same rate as those found in human brains, was published in Neuron and funded in part by the National Institutes of Healths National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
This work addresses a significant gap in human brain research by providing an invaluable technique to investigate the role of astrocytes in both normal development and disease, said NINDS program director Jill Morris, Ph.D.
In 2015, a team directed by Dr. Sergiu Pasca, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Stanford University in California, and Dr. Ben Barres, Ph.D., a Stanford professor of neurobiology, published a method for taking adult skin cells, converting them to induced pluripotent stem cells, and then growing them as 3-D clusters of brain cells called human cortical spheroids (hCSs). These hCSs, which closely resemble miniature versions of a particular brain region, can be grown for many months. The cells in the cluster eventually develop into neurons, astrocytes, and other cells found in the human brain.
One of the challenges of studying the human brain is the difficulty of examining it at different stages of development, Dr. Pasca said. This is a system that tries to simulate brain development step by step.
In the new study, Steven Sloan, a student in Stanfords M.D./Ph.D. program, led a series of experiments comparing astrocytes from hCSs to those found in tissue from the developing and adult human brain. The team grew the hCSs for 20 months, one of the longest-ever studies of lab-grown human brain cells.
The results verified that the lab-grown cells change over time in a similar manner to cells taken directly from brain tissue during very early life, a critical time for brain growth. This process is considered critical for normal brain development and deviations are thought to cause a variety of neurological and mental health disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism. Creating hCSs using cells from patients could allow scientists to uncover the underlying developmental biology at the core of these disorders.
The hCS system makes it possible to replay astrocyte development from any patient, Dr. Barres said. Thats huge. Theres no other way one could ever do that without this method.
The current study showed that hCS-grown astrocytes develop at the same rate as those found in human brains, in terms of their gene activity, their shapes, and their functions. For example, astrocytes taken from hCSs that were less than six months old multiplied rapidly and were highly engaged in eliminating unnecessary connections between neurons, just like astrocytes in babies growing in the womb. But astrocytes grown in hCSs for more than nine months could not reproduce and removed significantly fewer of those connections, mirroring astrocytes in infants 6 to 12 months old. On the other hand, just like astrocytes from developing and adult brains, the early- and late-stage astrocytes from hCSs were equally effective at encouraging new connections to form between neurons.
Astrocytes are not just bystanders in the brain, Dr. Pasca said. Theyre not just there to keep neurons warm; they actually participate actively in neurological function.
Since astrocytes make up a greater proportion of brain cells in humans than in other species, it may reflect a greater need for astrocytes in normal human brain function, with more significant consequences when they dont work correctly, added David Panchision, Ph.D., program director at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), which also helped fund the study.
The researchers caution that hCSs are only a model and lack many features of real brains. Moreover, certain genes that are active in fully mature astrocytes never switched on in the hCS-grown astrocytes, which they could conceivably do if the cells had more time to develop. To address this question, the researchers now hope to identify ways to produce mature brain cells more quickly. hCSs could also be used to scrutinize precisely what causes astrocytes to change over time and to screen drugs that might correct any differences that occur in brain disease.
These are questions that are going to be very exciting to explore, Dr. Barres said.
The study was funded by NINDS, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, the MQ Fellow Award, and Stanford University.
The NINDS is the nations leading funder of research on the brain and nervous system. The mission of NINDS is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease.
The mission of the NIMH is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery and cure. For information, visit the NIMH website.
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences supports basic research that increases understanding of biological processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention. For information, visit the NIGMS website.
The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) was established to transform the translational process so that new treatments and cures for disease can be delivered to patients faster. For information, visit the NCATS website.
The National Institutes of Health, the nation's medical research agency, encompasses 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.
- 10. The Promise of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs ... [Last Updated On: May 5th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 5th, 2015]
- What are induced pluripotent stem cells? [Stem Cell ... [Last Updated On: May 5th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 5th, 2015]
- Embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells Part 6 - Video [Last Updated On: May 5th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 5th, 2015]
- Embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells Part 2 - Video [Last Updated On: May 5th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 5th, 2015]
- Embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells Part 5 - Video [Last Updated On: May 5th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 5th, 2015]
- Embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells Part 3 - Video [Last Updated On: May 5th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 5th, 2015]
- Embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells Part 4 - Video [Last Updated On: May 5th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 5th, 2015]
- Embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells Part 1 - Video [Last Updated On: May 5th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 5th, 2015]
- piggyBac transposition reprograms fibroblasts to induced ... [Last Updated On: May 8th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 8th, 2015]
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (IPSCs) - HowStuffWorks [Last Updated On: May 27th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 27th, 2015]
- Pluripotency of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells [Last Updated On: May 27th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 27th, 2015]
- Induced stem cells - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: May 27th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 27th, 2015]
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) | UCLA Broad Stem ... [Last Updated On: May 27th, 2015] [Originally Added On: May 27th, 2015]
- iPS cells and reprogramming: turn any cell of the body ... [Last Updated On: June 2nd, 2015] [Originally Added On: June 2nd, 2015]
- induced pluripotent stem cells - RCN Corporation [Last Updated On: July 3rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: July 3rd, 2015]
- Generating Mice from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells | Protocol [Last Updated On: July 3rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: July 3rd, 2015]
- Stem Cell Key Terms | California's Stem Cell Agency [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2015] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2015]
- Cell potency - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2015] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2015]
- Induced pluripotent stem cell therapy - Wikipedia, the ... [Last Updated On: August 3rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: August 3rd, 2015]
- Glossary [Stem Cell Information] [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2015] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2015]
- STEMCELL Technologies Inc. Enters a Licensing Agreement ... [Last Updated On: August 29th, 2015] [Originally Added On: August 29th, 2015]
- Pluripotent Stem Cells 101 | Boston Children's Hospital [Last Updated On: September 10th, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 10th, 2015]
- COMPLETE 2015-16 INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELL INDUSTRY REPORT [Last Updated On: October 20th, 2015] [Originally Added On: October 20th, 2015]
- Complete 2015-16 Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Industry ... [Last Updated On: October 20th, 2015] [Originally Added On: October 20th, 2015]
- Derivation of Ethnically Diverse Human Induced Pluripotent ... [Last Updated On: October 21st, 2015] [Originally Added On: October 21st, 2015]
- Purest yet liver-like cells generated from induced ... [Last Updated On: August 30th, 2016] [Originally Added On: August 30th, 2016]
- World Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Market - Opportunities ... [Last Updated On: September 18th, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 18th, 2016]
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Market 2016: Hepatocytes ... [Last Updated On: September 18th, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 18th, 2016]
- The Promise of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs ... [Last Updated On: September 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 23rd, 2016]
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: 10 Years After the ... [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2016]
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Initiative | California's ... [Last Updated On: October 7th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 7th, 2016]
- Stem Cell Basics VI. | stemcells.nih.gov [Last Updated On: October 12th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 12th, 2016]
- Induced stem cells - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: October 18th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 18th, 2016]
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) - UCLA Broad Stem Cell [Last Updated On: October 21st, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 21st, 2016]
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: A New Frontier for Stem ... [Last Updated On: October 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 27th, 2016]
- Induced pluripotent stem cells and Parkinson's disease ... [Last Updated On: October 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 27th, 2016]
- Generation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells with ... [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2016]
- Generation of Neural Crest-Like Cells From Human ... [Last Updated On: November 14th, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 14th, 2016]
- Induced pluripotent stem-cell therapy - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: November 18th, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 18th, 2016]
- Generation of germline-competent induced pluripotent stem ... [Last Updated On: November 22nd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 22nd, 2016]
- Induced pluripotent stem cell models from X-linked ... [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Live Cell Imaging of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell ... [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells - cellapplications.com [Last Updated On: November 23rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: November 23rd, 2016]
- Why Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Are Vital for Glaucoma ... [Last Updated On: December 3rd, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 3rd, 2016]
- Stem Cell Glossary - stemcells.nih.gov [Last Updated On: December 5th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 5th, 2016]
- Clinical potential of human-induced pluripotent stem cells ... [Last Updated On: December 5th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 5th, 2016]
- Induced stem cells - Wikiversity [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2016]
- Induced pluripotent stem cell Wikipedia StemCell Therapy [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2016]
- Embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem ... [Last Updated On: January 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 17th, 2017]
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Repository | California's ... [Last Updated On: January 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 23rd, 2017]
- induced pluripotent stem cells - eurostemcell.org [Last Updated On: January 27th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 27th, 2017]
- When C9ORF72 Silences U2, Spliceosomes Can't Find What They ... - Alzforum [Last Updated On: July 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 1st, 2017]
- The Stem Cell Revolution - Seeking Alpha [Last Updated On: July 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 1st, 2017]
- Evotec in neurology iPSC drug discovery collaboration with stem-cell specialist Censo - FierceBiotech [Last Updated On: July 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 1st, 2017]
- Treating Asthma with Stem Cells | Technology Networks - Technology Networks [Last Updated On: July 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 1st, 2017]
- Embryonic stem cells to be available for medical use in Japan by next March - The Japan Times [Last Updated On: July 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 5th, 2017]
- This Study Could Help Extend the Human Lifespan - Futurism [Last Updated On: July 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 8th, 2017]
- Grnenthal Group: Launch of the Project - Modelling Neuron-glia Networks Into a Drug Discovery Platform for Pain ... - PR Newswire (press release) [Last Updated On: July 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 8th, 2017]
- The Global Market for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) should reach $3.6 Billion in 2021, Increasing at a CAGR ... - Business Wire (press... [Last Updated On: July 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 8th, 2017]
- SBP Scientist Receives Prestigious WM Keck Foundation Grant - Newswise (press release) [Last Updated On: July 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 11th, 2017]
- Is it time to start worrying about conscious human mini-brains? - PLoS Blogs (blog) [Last Updated On: August 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 2nd, 2017]
- A New Epigenetic Barrier to Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells - WhatIsEpigenetics.com [Last Updated On: August 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 2nd, 2017]
- What are induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells? - Stem ... [Last Updated On: August 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 2nd, 2017]
- Stem Cell Glossary - Closer Look at Stem Cells [Last Updated On: August 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 2nd, 2017]
- CRISPR Corrects Disease Mutation in Human Embryos - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (blog) [Last Updated On: August 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 3rd, 2017]
- World's 1st trial of drug developed from iPS cells to begin - Japan ... - Japan Today [Last Updated On: August 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 3rd, 2017]
- ASU grad students' lab skills help earn funding for cutting-edge biomedical research - Arizona State University [Last Updated On: August 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 10th, 2017]
- How Food Preservatives May Disrupt Human Hormones - Laboratory Equipment [Last Updated On: August 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 10th, 2017]
- Dopaminergic neurons derived from iPSCs in non-human primate model - Phys.Org [Last Updated On: August 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 12th, 2017]
- Artificial Blood Vessels Mimic Rare Accelerated Aging Disease - Duke Today [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Market Demands, Trends, Growth ... - MilTech [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS cell) | biology ... [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: Global Markets Report 2017-2021 [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- MESO-BRAIN initiative receives 3.3million to replicate brain's neural networks through 3D nanoprinting - Cordis News [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- Global Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Market: HTF Market [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Global Effort to ... [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- How Do We Get Pluripotent Stem Cells? | Boston Children's ... [Last Updated On: August 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 15th, 2017]
- Fertile offspring produced from sterile mice using iPS cells - Kyodo News Plus [Last Updated On: August 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 20th, 2017]
- Brain Spheroids Hatch Mature Astrocytes | ALZFORUM - Alzforum [Last Updated On: August 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 20th, 2017]
- Breakthrough in Gene Editing Comes as Scientists Correct Disease-Causing Mutation in Human Embryo - TrendinTech [Last Updated On: August 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 20th, 2017]