Article
Genetics & Heredity
Yu-Jiao Shi, Wen-Jie Sheng, Meng-Tong Xue, Fei-Xiang Duan, Lin Shen, Shu-Qin Ding, Qi-Yi Wang, Rui Wang, He-Zuo Lue, Jian-Guo Hu
Summary: RNA sequencing was used to evaluate the gene expression changes in injured spinal cords of rats treated with morroniside. The results confirmed the anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects of morroniside and provided a basis for further research on the protective mechanisms of morroniside in spinal cord injury.
Review
Cell Biology
Daniel Y. Zhang, Hongjun Song, Guo-li Ming
Summary: Brain organoids, three-dimensional neural tissue structures generated from pluripotent stem cells, mimic the structure and diversity of cell types in the developing human brain. They offer opportunities to study various human neurological disorders and may lead to new therapeutic interventions with advancements in technology and analytical methods.
SEMINARS IN CELL & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Sophie Karp, Martin Pollak, Balajikarthick Subramanian
Summary: Kidney diseases lack optimal treatments and developing appropriate model systems for studying human kidney disease is crucial. Organoids derived from hiPSCs are promising human kidney models but resemble first-trimester fetal kidney rather than adult kidney. New strategies are needed to advance their maturity and improve their accuracy in disease modeling.
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Zahra Heydari, Farideh Moeinvaziri, Tarun Agarwal, Paria Pooyan, Anastasia Shpichka, Tapas K. Maiti, Peter Timashev, Hossein Baharvand, Massoud Vosough
Summary: The limitations of monolayer culture have prompted scientists to explore new models that can accurately replicate the architecture and function of human organs. Recent advancements in protocol improvement have led to the development of three-dimensional organ-like structures known as 'organoids', which can mimic the characteristics of real organs. These organoid-based 3D models offer novel opportunities for drug screening, toxicology research, and molecular pathophysiology studies.
BIO-DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING
(2021)
Article
Biology
Yann Roussel, Stephanie F. Gaudreau, Emily R. Kacer, Mohini Sengupta, Tuan Bui
Summary: This study builds models of developing zebrafish spinal circuits and simulates the underlying mechanisms of swimming movements. The simulations reveal the relationships between neuronal firing patterns and developmental stages, highlighting some key features of zebrafish locomotion.
Article
Cell Biology
Santiago Ramirez, Abhisek Mukherjee, Sofia Sepulveda, Andrea Becerra-Calixto, Nicolas Bravo-Vasquez, Camila Gherardelli, Melissa Chavez, Claudio Soto
Summary: The study successfully adapted the controlled cortical impact (CCI) model for inducing traumatic brain injury (TBI) in human cerebral organoids (COs) derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), showing that COs recapitulate primary pathological changes of TBI. This novel approach using human COs in vitro holds great potential for understanding and treating TBI.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xianwei Chen, Guoqiang Sun, E. Tian, Mingzi Zhang, Hayk Davtyan, Thomas G. Beach, Eric M. Reiman, Mathew Blurton-Jones, David M. Holtzman, Yanhong Shi
Summary: This study established a human brain organoid-based sAD model using hiPSC-derived 3D brain organoids to mimic the serum exposure consequence of blood-brain barrier breakdown in AD patients. The model successfully recapitulated AD-like pathologies and could serve as a powerful platform for mechanistic study and therapeutic development in the future.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yilin Han, Marianne King, Evgenii Tikhomirov, Povilas Barasa, Cleide Dos Santos Souza, Jonas Lindh, Daiva Baltriukiene, Laura Ferraiuolo, Mimoun Azzouz, Maurizio R. Gullo, Elena N. Kozlova
Summary: The study aims to determine the survival and differentiation of boundary cap neural crest stem cells (BC) in gelatin-based 3D bioprinted bioink scaffolds for the fabrication of spinal cord organoids on a chip. The gelatin-based and enzymatically cross-linked hydrogel was found to be a suitable bioink for building a multicellular, bioprinted spinal cord organoid, but further measures are needed to achieve uniform neural differentiation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Maximilian E. Tschuchnig, Dominic Zillner, Pasquale Romanelli, David Hercher, Patrick Heimel, Gertie J. Oostingh, Sebastien Couillard-Despres, Michael Gadermayr
Summary: This paper analyzes micro-CT scans of rat spinal cords to generate lesion progression through the aggregation of anomaly-based scores. Using semi-supervised deviation-based anomaly detection algorithms, several models were able to generate 3D lesion quantifications with high correlations to the true data, reaching an average correlation of 0.83.
COMPUTERS IN BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
(2021)
Review
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Simeon Kofman, Neha Mohan, Xiaohuan Sun, Larisa Ibric, Emanuela Piermarini, Liang Qiang
Summary: Engineered three-dimensional neural tissue models have key features of human brain anatomy and function, and can be used for disease modeling and therapeutic cell replacement. This review introduces various three-dimensional central nervous system models, evaluates their applications and challenges in improving them.
JOURNAL OF TISSUE ENGINEERING
(2022)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Laura Pellegrini, Madeline A. Lancaster
Summary: A greater understanding of the events preceding neurodegeneration is crucial for designing effective preventive and therapeutic strategies. A recent study in Cell by Bowles et al. reveals early events in frontotemporal dementia pathogenesis due to mutations in microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT), shedding light on a novel mechanism involving abnormal splicing and glutamate signaling.
Article
Biology
Wei Feng, Hannah Schriever, Shan Jiang, Abha Bais, Haodi Wu, Dennis Kostka, Guang Li
Summary: The researchers developed a human cardiac organoid system and used single cell RNA sequencing and machine learning to study the genetic variant associated with Ebstein's Anomaly. They found that the system could generate chamber-specific organoids and successfully recapitulated the disease's atrialized ventricular defects.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Cell Biology
Kavitha S. Rao, Vasumathi Kameswaran, Benoit G. Bruneau
Summary: Congenital heart defects are common birth defects with unknown causes. Recent development of experimental models, including mouse models and human cellular models, have helped to enhance our understanding of the molecular basis of these defects. The development of cardiac organoids also shows promise in creating more anatomically informative human models of congenital heart defects.
GENES & DEVELOPMENT
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maria Csobonyeiova, Martin Klein, Marcela Kuniakova, Ivan Varga, L'ubos Danisovic
Summary: The outbreak of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 has become a global health issue. Animal and monolayer culture models do not fully reflect the response of human tissues to the virus, but 3D in vitro culture models derived from iPSCs, such as organoids, show immense potential in COVID-19 modeling. This comprehensive review article summarizes the current knowledge on COVID-19 modeling and drug screening using iPSC-derived 3D culture models.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jelte van der Vaart, Lynn Bosmans, Stijn F. Sijbesma, Kevin Knoops, Willine J. van de Wetering, Henny G. Otten, Harry Begthel, Inne H. M. Borel Rinkes, Jeroen Korving, Eef G. W. M. Lentjes, Carmen Lopez-Iglesias, Peter J. Peters, Hanneke M. van Santen, Menno R. Vriens, Hans Clevers
Summary: The study establishes three-dimensional organoids from adult thyroid tissue, demonstrating their ability to mimic primary thyroid tissue and displaying similar physiological functions. These thyroid organoids also exhibit clinically relevant responses to Graves' disease patient sera, providing a new method for modeling human autoimmune diseases.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Junquan Lin, Wai Hon Chooi, William Ong, Na Zhang, Marie E. Bechler, Charles Ffrench-Constant, Sing Yian Chew
Summary: This study presents a Protein A-based biomimicking platform that efficiently orients proteins for evaluating cellular behavior, demonstrating efficacy in neural cell models. The results suggest the platform's potential for protein screening applications.
MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING C-MATERIALS FOR BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Anesthesiology
Hua Huang, Shermaine Huiping Tay, Winanto Ng, Shi Yan Ng, Tuck Wah Soong
Summary: The study revealed that the exon 27 of human TRPA1 can be alternatively spliced into two variants, affecting the channel function. By manipulating the splicing factor SRSF1, alternative splicing within exon 27 can be promoted, leading to decreased TRPA1 activity.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Cheryl Yi-Pin Lee, Wai Hon Chooi, Shi-Yan Ng, Sing Yian Chew
Summary: The neuroinflammatory response after spinal cord injury plays a role in both tissue damage and repair. Manipulating the immune pathways is necessary for successful therapeutic interventions. This review discusses recent advancements and fresh perspectives on using molecular, cellular, and biomaterial-based therapies to modulate inflammatory responses and promote tissue regeneration and functional recovery.
BIOENGINEERING & TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Valerie Ow, Jun Jie Chang, Wai Hon Chooi, Yi Jian Boo, Rebekah P. T. Tan, Joey H. M. Wong, Bhav Harshad Parikh, Xinyi Su, Shi Yan Ng, Xian Jun Loh, Kun Xue
Summary: Hydrogels with multiple modes of crosslinking, such as the EPC-Alg hydrogel discussed in this study, offer improved control over properties like mechanical strength through the use of multiple stimuli, in this case temperature and Ca2+. These orthogonally crosslinked hydrogels are non-toxic to cells and have fully reversible crosslinks, allowing for modulation of gel strength by selectively removing one or both stimuli. The EPC-Alg hydrogel showed tunable modulation of thermal stability, stiffness, and gelation temperatures, and demonstrated feasibility in cell-based biomedical applications including cell encapsulation and cell therapy.
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
(2023)
Review
Neurosciences
Winanto Ng, Shi-Yan Ng
Summary: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a debilitating disease characterized by progressive degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons. The disease is caused by a combination of intrinsic neuronal defects and toxic effects mediated by astrocytes. Reactive astrocytes secrete a variety of pro-inflammatory factors that contribute to neuronal death. Recent studies have also identified neurotoxic metabolites as important components of the astrocyte secretome in ALS.
TRANSLATIONAL NEURODEGENERATION
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jie Zheng, Xin Yi Oh, Enyi Ye, Wai Hon Chooi, Qiang Zhu, Xian Jun Loh, Zibiao Li
Summary: Robust healable and reprocessable polymers with reversible covalent adaptable bonds have gained attention as alternatives to thermosets. This review summarizes the latest developments in healable polymers with dynamic B-O bonds, particularly in the form of boronic ester bonds, and their applications in various areas. The strong bond strength, rapid exchange rate, and stimulus responsiveness of boronic ester bonds provide a versatile platform for designing functional healable polymers. The review also discusses the fundamental characteristics and engineering applications of these polymers in drug delivery, bio-adhesives, tissue engineering, smart sensors, and flexible functional devices.
MATERIALS CHEMISTRY FRONTIERS
(2023)
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Christy Kwokdinata, Vaibavi Ramanujam, Jiahui Chen, Paula Nunes de Oliveira, Mui Hoon Nai, Wai Hon Chooi, Chwee Teck Lim, Shi Yan Ng, Laurent David, Sing Yian Chew
Summary: This study found that using injectable hyaluronan-gelatin hydrogel in transplantation therapy can promote cell survival and neural differentiation of human spinal cord progenitor cells.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Jasmine Harley, Munirah Mohamad Santosa, Chong Yi Ng, Oleg V. Grinchuk, Jin-Hui Hor, Yajing Liang, Valerie Jingwen Lim, Wee Wei Tee, Derrick Sek Tong Ong, Shi-Yan Ng
Summary: This study used hiPSC technology to explore the possibility of inducing aging-associated features in cell types of the CNS. By shortening telomeres, the study found that age-associated characteristics were induced in motor neurons and astrocytes, and highlighted the essential role of TERT and telomere shortening in neural cell proliferation and differentiation.
Article
Psychiatry
Zheng-Shan Chong, Zi Jian Khong, Shermaine Huiping Tay, Shi-Yan Ng
Summary: Regulation of neuronal metabolism is crucial for proper brain development. Loss-of-function mutations in SETD1A, a histone methyltransferase, are associated with increased schizophrenia risk and developmental delay. Studies show that SETD1A haploinsufficiency leads to metabolic dysfunction and phenotypes associated with schizophrenia.