Cerebral organoids exhibit mature neurons and astrocytes and recapitulate electrophysiological activity of the human brain

作     者：Abraam M.Yakoub 

作者机构：Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology Stanford University 

出 版 物：《Neural Regeneration Research》 (中国神经再生研究（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2019年第14卷第5期

页      面：757-761页

核心收录：

学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 1002[医学-临床医学] 1001[医学-基础医学(可授医学、理学学位)] 10[医学] 

主　　题：cerebral organoids human brain stem cells neurons astrocytes neurodevelopmental disorders neuropsychiatric disorders autism 

摘      要：Multiple protocols have been devised to generate cerebral organoids that recapitulate features of the developing human brain, including the presence of a large, multi-layered, cortical-like neuronal zone. However, the central question is whether these organoids truly present mature, functional neurons and astrocytes, which may qualify the system for in-depth molecular neuroscience studies focused at neuronal and synaptic functions. Here, we demonstrate that cerebral organoids derived under optimal differentiation conditions exhibit mature, fully functional neurons and astrocytes, as validated by immunohistological, gene expression, and electrophysiological, analyses. Neurons in cerebral organoids showed gene expression profiles and electrophysiological properties similar to those reported for fetal human brain. These important findings indicate that cerebral organoids recapitulate the developing human brain and may enhance use of cerebral organoids in modeling human brain development or investigating neural deficits that underlie neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric conditions, such as autism or intellectual disorders.