Aug. 29, 2013 — Complex human brain tissue has been successfully developed in a three-dimensional culture system established in an Austrian laboratory. The method described in the current issue of Nature allows pluripotent stem cells to develop into cerebral organoids -- or "mini brains" -- that consist of several discrete brain regions.
Instead of using so-called patterning growth factors to achieve this, scientists at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) fine-tuned growth conditions and provided a conducive environment. As a result, intrinsic cues from the stem cells guided the development towards different interdependent brain tissues. Using the "mini brains," the scientists were also able to model the development of a human neuronal disorder and identify its origin -- opening up routes to long hoped-for model systems of the human brain.
The development of the human brain remains one of the greatest mysteries in biology. Derived from a simple tissue, it develops into the most complex natural structure known to man. Studies of the human brain's development and associated human disorders are extremely difficult, as no scientist has thus far successfully established a three-dimensional culture model of the developing brain as a whole. Now, a research group lead by Dr. Ju
Instead of using so-called patterning growth factors to achieve this, scientists at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) fine-tuned growth conditions and provided a conducive environment. As a result, intrinsic cues from the stem cells guided the development towards different interdependent brain tissues. Using the "mini brains," the scientists were also able to model the development of a human neuronal disorder and identify its origin -- opening up routes to long hoped-for model systems of the human brain.
The development of the human brain remains one of the greatest mysteries in biology. Derived from a simple tissue, it develops into the most complex natural structure known to man. Studies of the human brain's development and associated human disorders are extremely difficult, as no scientist has thus far successfully established a three-dimensional culture model of the developing brain as a whole. Now, a research group lead by Dr. Ju