Scientists at the Princess Máxima Center and the Hubrecht Institute have established brain organoids from human fetal brain tissue, offering new insights into brain advancement and disease modeling. Researchers can also guide stem cells– found in embryos or in some adult tissues– to establish into the organ they intend to study.Advancements in Brain Organoid DevelopmentUntil now, brain organoids were grown in the laboratory by coaxing pluripotent or embryonic stem cells to grow into structures representing various areas of the brain. Using a specific cocktail of molecules, they would try to mimic the natural advancement of the brain– with the recipe for each cocktail taking a lot of research to develop.Now, researchers at the Princess Máxima Center for pediatric oncology and the Hubrecht Institute, both based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, established brain organoids directly from human fetal brain tissue. Rather working with small pieces of fetal brain tissue, the group discovered that these pieces could self-organize into organoids.The brain organoids were approximately the size of a grain of rice. The existence of extracellular matrix in the organoids will allow additional study of the environment of brain cells, and what occurs when this goes wrong.A zoom-in image of a part of a human fetal brain organoid.
Researchers at the Princess Máxima Center and the Hubrecht Institute have actually developed brain organoids from human fetal brain tissue, using new insights into brain advancement and disease modeling. Researchers can likewise guide stem cells– found in embryos or in some adult tissues– to establish into the organ they intend to study.Advancements in Brain Organoid DevelopmentUntil now, brain organoids were grown in the laboratory by coaxing pluripotent or embryonic stem cells to grow into structures representing different areas of the brain. Utilizing a particular mixed drink of molecules, they would attempt to mimic the natural advancement of the brain– with the dish for each cocktail taking a lot of research study to develop.Now, scientists at the Princess Máxima Center for pediatric oncology and the Hubrecht Institute, both based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, developed brain organoids straight from human fetal brain tissue.