Making spinal cord organoids from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells
Motor neuron disease (MND) is a neurodegenerative disease characterised by the progressive loss of motor neurons. With the advancement of stem cell technology, it has now become possible to use induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) derived from patients with MND to make mini brain and spinal cord structures in the lab.
Comparing with iPSC-derived organoids from healthy control patients, we can investigate differences by studying individual cell types within the organoids as well as whole networks.
Organoids can be analysed using common biochemical techniques assessing gene and protein expression and there’s also the potential to live-image organoids over time to monitor cellular function with time. Further, using advanced electrophysiological techniques like microarray electrodes, it is possible to monitor the electrical activity of the organoids as a surrogate for synaptic networking which is known to be impaired in MND.
Aim
- Make spinal cord organoids from patient-derived iPSCs.
- Compare the difference of individual cell types within MND patient-derived iPSC organoids and healthy control patient-derived iPSC organoids.
Research team
Research group
Take part in this project
Student applications
Students who are applying to study at The Florey can register their interest in this project. Refer to our step-by-step guide to help you with your application.
Contact us
If you’re interested in learning more about this project please contact our team.