- Harvard University scientists create 3D brain models called "chimeroids" using stem cells from multiple donors, revolutionizing brain research.
- Chimeroids offer a unique way to study how different human brains react to genetic mutations, neurotoxic triggers, and potential therapies, enabling personalized treatments.
Scientists at Harvard University have achieved a breakthrough by creating 3D brain models called ‘chimeroids’ for the first time. By re-aggregating cells from multiple single-donor organoids at the neural stem cell or neural progenitor cell stage, Chimeroids encompass all cell lineages of the cerebral cortex from each donor.
This groundbreaking innovation could change how scientists study the human brain and its responses to various stimuli.
Studying how different human brains develop normally and in various diseases is constrained by the lack of accurate cellular models and the difficulty in adapting current models to represent diverse populations.
This offers a unique opportunity to understand how the cells of different human brains react to neurotoxic triggers, genetic mutations, and potential therapeutic compounds. The comprehensive study was published in Nature on June 26th.
“The ability to grow cells of distinct donors within the same organoid opens the door to exciting opportunities to investigate at scale and in a more controlled way the responses of the cells of the brain of many different individuals to many different types of stimuli, from genetic mutations to infections to drugs, the possibilities are endless,” said Paila Arlotta, team lead and Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University.
Creating the brain chimeroid was a multistep process. First, pluripotent stem cells were collected from five donors (healthy or patient), and they were differentiated in individual 3D cultures. After a period of time, the cells were directed to differentiate into neural progenitors, specifically those destined to develop cortical fate in the brain.
Subsequently, the cells were extracted from the culture, dissociated from one another, and then reassembled into a 3D brain chimeroid, which gradually developed into a multitude of cell types of the human brain.
Arlotta further talks about a future where chimeroids could be used as avatars to predict how individuals will respond to new treatments before they are tested in trials. This could also help in better classifying and diagnosing patients, allowing for more effective personalized treatments. She finds this future quite appealing.
Edited by Harshajit Sarmah
