Authors: Wei Pang, Jinkui Zhu, Kexin Yang, Xiaona Zhu, Wei Zhou, Linlin Jiang, Xuran Zhuang, Yantong Liu, Jianfeng Wei, Xiaoxiang Lu, Yao Yin, Ziling Chen, and Yangfei Xiang
Cell Stem Cell, 28 August 2024
Scientists use Axion Maestro Pro MEA to confirm and evaluate functional activity of human medullary spinal trigeminal nucleus-like organoids in vitro.
The spinal trigeminal nucleus is critical for relaying sensory information to the thalamus, yet sufficient in vitro models for this and other medullary structures are lacking. In this study, researchers develop a protocol for generating human medullary spinal trigeminal nucleus-like organoids (hmSpVOs) to serve as a novel in vitro model for SpV development, connectivity, and relevant diseases.
Axion BioSystems’ noninvasive Maestro Pro multieletrode array (MEA) was used to confirm and evaluate functional activity of hmSpVOs. Pharmacological treatment was used to assess the presence of glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons, as well as response to CGRP, a neuropeptide involved in pain and sensory processing. Taken together, the findings provide evidence that these organoids are functionally mature and represent spinal trigeminal nucleus physiology.
Additionally, the researchers created assembloids of hmSpVOs and thalamic organoids (hThOs) to create a functional model of the trigeminothalamic pathway. Overall, the authors “foresee a valuable opportunity to model the human brain nucleus and associated neural circuits using precisely guided, nucleus-specific human brain organoids.”
