Jan 10, 2024 12:00:00

Succeeded in creating a 'mini brain' from the brain of a human fetus for the first time in the world

by Princess Máxima Center, Hubrecht Institute/B Artegiani, D Hendriks, H Clevers

A paper was published in the academic journal Cell on January 8, 2024, stating that

brain organoids were successfully created for the first time using cells collected from the brain of an aborted fetus. It is expected that research on the treatment of brain tumors and cancer will further advance by using technology to create 'mini brains' with structures similar to real human brains directly from brain cells rather than iPS cells .

Human fetal brain self-organizes into long-term expanding organoids: Cell
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)01344-2

Novel tissue-derived brain organoids could re | EurekAlert!
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1030206

In a 1st, 'minibrains' grown from fetal brain tissue | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/health/neuroscience/in-a-1st-minibrains-grown-from-fetal-brain-tissue

Organoid research, which produces small organs with three-dimensional three-dimensional structures by culturing human cells in vitro, has so far produced results such as mini-brains with primitive eyes and vision. However, creating organoids requires a process in which pluripotent stem cells grow into brain cells, and it has not been possible to create organoids directly from human brain cells.

Report that eyes have grown in a human 'mini brain' cultivated in a laboratory, and it also reacts to light - GIGAZINE

by Elke Gabriel

Now, researchers at the Princess Máxima Pediatric Oncology Center and the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht, the Netherlands, have announced that they have successfully grown cerebral organoids from human fetal brain tissue.

The created mini-brain is about the size of a grain of rice, but it has a complex three-dimensional structure and various types of brain cells, especially the `` outer radial glia' ' that are present in the developed brains of humans and human ancestors. The large numbers indicate that the mini-brains are very similar to real human brains.

'Until now, we have been able to create organoids from most human organs, but not from the brain. It's really exciting that we were able to jump this hurdle,' says the researcher. Hans Krevers, professor of medicine at Utrecht University and one of the team members, says:

Below is an image of the mini-brain created by the research team. Stem cells are colored gray, and nerve cells are colored pink to yellow depending on depth.

by Princess Máxima Center, Hubrecht Institute/B Artegiani, D Hendriks, H Clevers

According to the research team, stem cells must be guided to grow into different parts of the brain, whereas tissue removed from the brain can accurately reproduce tissue at a particular stage of development. thing. In addition, mini-brains created from stem cells needed to create a 'scaffold' for the cells to grow, but mini-brains created from brain cells had to create their own '

extracellular matrix' to serve as the scaffold. I was also able to do it.

To create this new mini-brain, the research team sampled brain tissue from a 12- to 15-week gestation fetus, provided by a completely anonymous and unpaid donor. They then grew small pieces of each tissue on plates using nutrients and growth factors. Each sample was constantly shaken during growth to ensure proper chemical exposure.

After four to eight days, the researchers observed that multiple organized three-dimensional structures had formed, which had matured into organoids with a more organized appearance.

In order to see if this mini-brain could be applied to brain tumor research, the research team actually deleted TP53 , a tumor suppressor gene, in the mini-brain using gene editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 . After three months, the TP53-defective cells completely outgrew the healthy cells in the minibrains. This means that the defective cells have acquired a growth advantage, a typical characteristic of cancer cells.

In another experiment, minibrains were able to continue growing in a petri dish for more than six months. More importantly, the research team was able to create multiple mini-brains from a single tissue sample. This allows researchers to repeat experiments using the same type of minibrain, increasing the reliability of their research.

The research team plans to pursue the potential of this new mini-brain while carefully discussing with experts the ethical framework for creating organoids using human fetal brain cells.