ciRS-7 and miR-7 regulate ischemia-induced neuronal death via glutamatergic signaling.

Brain functionality relies on finely tuned regulation of gene expression by networks of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) such as the one composed by the circular RNA ciRS-7 (also known as CDR1as), the microRNA miR-7, and the long ncRNA Cyrano. We describe ischemia-induced alterations in the ncRNA network both in vitro and in vivo and in transgenic mice lacking ciRS-7 or miR-7. Our data show that cortical neurons downregulate ciRS-7 and Cyrano and upregulate miR-7 expression during ischemia. Mice lacking ciRS-7 exhibit reduced lesion size and motor impairment, while the absence of miR-7 alone results in increased ischemia-induced neuronal death. Moreover, miR-7 levels in pyramidal excitatory neurons regulate neurite morphology and glutamatergic signaling, suggesting a potential molecular link to the in vivo phenotype. Our data reveal the role of ciRS-7 and miR-7 in modulating ischemic stroke outcome, shedding light on the pathophysiological function of intracellular ncRNA networks in the brain.

Particulate matter from car exhaust alters function of human iPSC-derived microglia.

BACKGROUND: Air pollution is recognized as an emerging environmental risk factor for neurological diseases. Large-scale epidemiological studies associate traffic-related particulate matter (PM) with impaired cognitive functions and increased incidence of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Inhaled components of PM may directly invade the brain via the olfactory route, or act through peripheral system responses resulting in inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain. Microglia are the immune cells of the brain implicated in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. However, it remains unknown how PM affects live human microglia. RESULTS: Here we show that two different PMs derived from exhausts of cars running on EN590 diesel or compressed natural gas (CNG) alter the function of human microglia-like cells in vitro. We exposed human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived microglia-like cells (iMGLs) to traffic related PMs and explored their functional responses. Lower concentrations of PMs ranging between 10 and 100 µg ml-1 increased microglial survival whereas higher concentrations became toxic over time. Both tested pollutants impaired microglial phagocytosis and increased secretion of a few proinflammatory cytokines with distinct patterns, compared to lipopolysaccharide induced responses. iMGLs showed pollutant dependent responses to production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) with CNG inducing and EN590 reducing ROS production. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that traffic-related air pollutants alter the function of human microglia and warrant further studies to determine whether these changes contribute to adverse effects in the brain and on cognition over time. This study demonstrates human iPSC-microglia as a valuable tool to study functional microglial responses to environmental agents.

Alzheimer's disease-induced phagocytic microglia express a specific profile of coding and non-coding RNAs.

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the main cause of dementia in the elderly. AD pathology is characterized by accumulation of microglia around the beta-amyloid (Aß) plaques which assumes disease-specific transcriptional signatures, as for the disease-associated microglia (DAM). However, the regulators of microglial phagocytosis are still unknown. METHODS: We isolated Aß-laden microglia from the brain of 5xFAD mice for RNA sequencing to characterize the transcriptional signature in phagocytic microglia and to identify the key non-coding RNAs capable of regulating microglial phagocytosis. Through spatial sequencing, we show the transcriptional changes of microglia in the AD mouse brain in relation to Aß proximity. RESULTS: Finally, we show that phagocytic messenger RNAs are regulated by miR-7a-5p, miR-29a-3p and miR-146a-5p microRNAs and segregate the DAM population into phagocytic and non-phagocytic states. DISCUSSION: Our study pinpoints key regulators of microglial Aß clearing capacity suggesting new targets for future therapeutic approaches.

Human iPSC-derived microglia carrying the LRRK2-G2019S mutation show a Parkinson's disease related transcriptional profile and function.

LRRK2-G2019S is one of the most common Parkinson's disease (PD)-associated mutations and has been shown to alter microglial functionality. However, the impact of LRRK2-G2019S on transcriptional profile of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia-like cells (iMGLs) and how it corresponds to microglia in idiopathic PD brain is not known. Here we demonstrate that LRRK2-G2019S carrying iMGL recapitulate aspects of the transcriptional signature of human idiopathic PD midbrain microglia. LRRK2-G2019S induced subtle and donor-dependent alterations in iMGL mitochondrial respiration, phagocytosis and cytokine secretion. Investigation of microglial transcriptional state in the midbrains of PD patients revealed a subset of microglia with a transcriptional overlap between the in vitro PD-iMGL and human midbrain PD microglia. We conclude that LRRK2-G2019S iMGL serve as a model to study PD-related effects in human microglia.

Reduced binding of apoE4 to complement factor H promotes amyloid-ß oligomerization and neuroinflammation.

The APOE4 variant of apolipoprotein E (apoE) is the most prevalent genetic risk allele associated with late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). ApoE interacts with complement regulator factor H (FH), but the role of this interaction in AD pathogenesis is unknown. Here we elucidate the mechanism by which isoform-specific binding of apoE to FH alters Aß1-42-mediated neurotoxicity and clearance. Flow cytometry and transcriptomic analysis reveal that apoE and FH reduce binding of Aß1-42 to complement receptor 3 (CR3) and subsequent phagocytosis by microglia which alters expression of genes involved in AD. Moreover, FH forms complement-resistant oligomers with apoE/Aß1-42 complexes and the formation of these complexes is isoform specific with apoE2 and apoE3 showing higher affinity to FH than apoE4. These FH/apoE complexes reduce Aß1-42 oligomerization and toxicity, and colocalize with complement activator C1q deposited on Aß plaques in the brain. These findings provide an important mechanistic insight into AD pathogenesis and explain how the strongest genetic risk factor for AD predisposes for neuroinflammation in the early stages of the disease pathology.

Dynamic release of neuronal extracellular vesicles containing miR-21a-5p is induced by hypoxia.

Hypoxia induces changes in the secretion of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in several non-neuronal cells and pathological conditions. EVs are packed with biomolecules, such as microRNA(miR)-21-5p, which respond to hypoxia. However, the true EV association of miR-21-5p, and its functional or biomarker relevance, are inadequately characterised. Neurons are extremely sensitive cells, and it is not known whether the secretion of neuronal EVs and miR-21-5p are altered upon hypoxia. Here, we characterised the temporal EV secretion profile and cell viability of neurons under hypoxia. Hypoxia induced a rapid increase of miR-21a-5p secretion in the EVs, which preceded the elevation of hypoxia-induced tissue or cellular miR-21a-5p. Prolonged hypoxia induced cell death and the release of morphologically distinct EVs. The EVs protected miR-21a-5p from enzymatic degradation but a remarkable fraction of miR-21a-5p remained fragile and non-EV associated. The increase in miR-21a-5p secretion may have biomarker potential, as high blood levels of miR-21-5p in stroke patients were associated with significant disability at hospital discharge. Our data provides an understanding of the dynamic regulation of EV secretion from neurons under hypoxia and provides a candidate for the prediction of recovery from ischemic stroke.

Preserving cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease: The Alzheimer's disease neuroprotection research initiative (ADNRI).

The global trend toward aging populations has resulted in an increase in the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and associated socioeconomic burdens. Abnormal metabolism of amyloid-ß (Aß) has been proposed as a significant pathomechanism in AD, supported by results of recent clinical trials using anti-Aß antibodies. Nonetheless, the cognitive benefits of the current treatments are limited. The etiology of AD is multifactorial, encompassing Aß and tau accumulation, neuroinflammation, demyelination, vascular dysfunction, and comorbidities, which collectively lead to widespread neurodegeneration in the brain and cognitive impairment. Hence, solely removing Aß from the brain may be insufficient to combat neurodegeneration and preserve cognition. To attain effective treatment for AD, it is necessary to (1) conduct extensive research on various mechanisms that cause neurodegeneration, including advances in neuroimaging techniques for earlier detection and a more precise characterization of molecular events at scales ranging from cellular to the full system level; (2) identify neuroprotective intervention targets against different neurodegeneration mechanisms; and (3) discover novel and optimal combinations of neuroprotective intervention strategies to maintain cognitive function in AD patients. The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroprotection Research Initiative's objective is to facilitate coordinated, multidisciplinary efforts to develop systemic neuroprotective strategies to combat AD. The aim is to achieve mitigation of the full spectrum of pathological processes underlying AD, with the goal of halting or even reversing cognitive decline.

Increased Expression and Activity of Brain Cortical cPLA2 Due to Chronic Lipopolysaccharide Administration in Mouse Model of Familial Alzheimer's Disease.

Cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) is an enzyme regulating membrane phospholipid homeostasis and the release of arachidonic acid utilized in inflammatory responses. It represents an attractive target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Previously, we showed that lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced systemic inflammation caused abnormal lipid metabolism in the brain of a transgenic AD mouse model (APdE9), which might be associated with potential changes in cPLA2 activity. Here, we investigated changes in cPLA2 expression and activity, as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying these alterations due to chronic LPS administration in the cerebral cortex of female APdE9 mice as compared to saline- and LPS-treated female wild-type mice and saline-treated APdE9 mice. The study revealed the significant effects of genotype LPS treatment on cortical cPLA2 protein expression and activity in APdE9 mice. LPS treatment resulted in nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFkB) activation in the cortex of APdE9 mice. The gene expressions of inflammation markers Il1b and Tnfa were significantly elevated in the cortex of both APdE9 groups compared to the wild-type groups. The study provides evidence of the elevated expression and activity of cPLA2 in the brain cortex of APdE9 mice after chronic LPS treatment, which could be associated with NFkB activation.

Microglial amyloid beta clearance is driven by PIEZO1 channels.

BACKGROUND: Microglia are the endogenous immune cells of the brain and act as sensors of pathology to maintain brain homeostasis and eliminate potential threats. In Alzheimer's disease (AD), toxic amyloid beta (Aß) accumulates in the brain and forms stiff plaques. In late-onset AD accounting for 95% of all cases, this is thought to be due to reduced clearance of Aß. Human genome-wide association studies and animal models suggest that reduced clearance results from aberrant function of microglia. While the impact of neurochemical pathways on microglia had been broadly studied, mechanical receptors regulating microglial functions remain largely unexplored. METHODS: Here we showed that a mechanotransduction ion channel, PIEZO1, is expressed and functional in human and mouse microglia. We used a small molecule agonist, Yoda1, to study how activation of PIEZO1 affects AD-related functions in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived microglia-like cells (iMGL) under controlled laboratory experiments. Cell survival, metabolism, phagocytosis and lysosomal activity were assessed using real-time functional assays. To evaluate the effect of activation of PIEZO1 in vivo, 5-month-old 5xFAD male mice were infused daily with Yoda1 for two weeks through intracranial cannulas. Microglial Iba1 expression and Aß pathology were quantified with immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy. Published human and mouse AD datasets were used for in-depth analysis of PIEZO1 gene expression and related pathways in microglial subpopulations. RESULTS: We show that PIEZO1 orchestrates Aß clearance by enhancing microglial survival, phagocytosis, and lysosomal activity. Aß inhibited PIEZO1-mediated calcium transients, whereas activation of PIEZO1 with a selective agonist, Yoda1, improved microglial phagocytosis resulting in Aß clearance both in human and mouse models of AD. Moreover, PIEZO1 expression was associated with a unique microglial transcriptional phenotype in AD as indicated by assessment of cellular metabolism, and human and mouse single-cell datasets. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the compromised function of microglia in AD could be improved by controlled activation of PIEZO1 channels resulting in alleviated Aß burden. Pharmacological regulation of these mechanoreceptors in microglia could represent a novel therapeutic paradigm for AD.

Metabolomic, Lipidomic and Proteomic Characterisation of Lipopolysaccharide-induced Inflammation Mouse Model.

Neuroinflammation is an important feature in the pathogenesis and progression of central nervous system (CNS) diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD). One of the widely used animal models of peripherally induced neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration is a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation mouse model. An acute LPS administration has been widely used for investigation of inflammation-associated disease and testing inflammation-targeting drug candidates. In the present metabolomic, lipidomic and proteomic study, we investigated short-term effects of systemic inflammation induced by LPS administration on the mouse plasma and brain cortical and hippocampal metabolome, lipidome as well as expression of the brain cortical proteins which were shown to be involved in inflammation-associated CNS diseases. From a global perspective, the hippocampus was more vulnerable to the effects of LPS-induced systemic inflammation than the cortex. In addition, the study revealed several brain region-specific changes in metabolic pathways and lipids, such as statistically significant increase in several cortical and hippocampal phosphatidylcholines/phosphatidylethanolamines, and significantly decreased levels of brain cortical betaine after LPS treatment in mice. Moreover, LPS treatment in mice caused significantly increased protein expression of GluN1 receptor in the brain cortex. The revealed perturbations in the LPS-induced inflammation mouse model may give insight into the mechanisms underlying inflammation-associated CNS diseases. In addition, the finding of the study provide important information about the appropriate use of the model during target validation and drug candidate testing.

Sex Differences in Poststroke Inflammation: a Focus on Microglia Across the Lifespan.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and currently only few therapeutic options are available. Stroke is a sexually dimorphic disease contributing to the difficulty in finding efficient treatments. Poststroke neuroinflammation is geared largely by brain microglia and infiltrating peripheral immune cells and largely contributes to sex differences in the outcome of stroke. Microglia, since very early in the development, are sexually divergent, imprinting specific sex-related features. The diversity in terms of microglial density, morphology, and transcriptomic and proteomic profiles between sexes remains in the adulthood and is likely to contribute to the observed sex-differences on the postischemic inflammation. The impact of sexual hormones is fundamental: changes in terms of risk and severity have been observed for females before and after menopause underlining the importance of altered circulating sexual hormones. Moreover, aging is a driving force for changes that interact with sex, shifting the inflammatory response in a sex-dependent manner. This review summarizes the present literature on sex differences in stroke-induced inflammatory responses, with the focus on different microglial responses along lifespan.

Nuclear microRNA-466c regulates Vegfa expression in response to hypoxia.

MicroRNAs are well characterized in their role in silencing gene expression by targeting 3´-UTR of mRNAs in cytoplasm. However, recent studies have shown that miRNAs have a role in the regulation of genes in the nucleus, where they are abundantly located. We show here that in mouse endothelial cell line (C166), nuclear microRNA miR-466c participates in the regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor a (Vegfa) gene expression in hypoxia. Upregulation of Vegfa expression in response to hypoxia was significantly compromised after removal of miR-466c with CRISPR-Cas9 genomic deletion. We identified a promoter-associated long non-coding RNA on mouse Vegfa promoter and show that miR-466c directly binds to this transcript to modulate Vegfa expression. Collectively, these observations suggest that miR-466c regulates Vegfa gene transcription in the nucleus by targeting the promoter, and expands on our understanding of the role of miRNAs well beyond their canonical role.

Inactivation of mouse transmembrane prolyl 4-hydroxylase increases blood brain barrier permeability and ischemia-induced cerebral neuroinflammation.

Hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl 4-hydroxylases (HIF-P4Hs) regulate the hypoxic induction of >300 genes required for survival and adaptation under oxygen deprivation. Inhibition of HIF-P4H-2 has been shown to be protective in focal cerebral ischemia rodent models, while that of HIF-P4H-1 has no effects and inactivation of HIF-P4H-3 has adverse effects. A transmembrane prolyl 4-hydroxylase (P4H-TM) is highly expressed in the brain and contributes to the regulation of HIF, but the outcome of its inhibition on stroke is yet unknown. To study this, we subjected WT and P4htm-/- mice to permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO). Lack of P4H-TM had no effect on lesion size following pMCAO, but increased inflammatory microgliosis and neutrophil infiltration was observed in the P4htm-/- cortex. Furthermore, both the permeability of blood brain barrier and ultrastructure of cerebral tight junctions were compromised in P4htm-/- mice. At the molecular level, P4H-TM deficiency led to increased expression of proinflammatory genes and robust activation of protein kinases in the cortex, while expression of tight junction proteins and the neuroprotective growth factors erythropoietin and vascular endothelial growth factor was reduced. Our data provide the first evidence that P4H-TM inactivation has no protective effect on infarct size and increases inflammatory microgliosis and neutrophil infiltration in the cortex at early stage after pMCAO. When considering HIF-P4H inhibitors as potential therapeutics in stroke, the current data support that isoenzyme-selective inhibitors that do not target P4H-TM or HIF-P4H-3 would be preferred.

Subacute inhalation of ultrafine particulate matter triggers inflammation without altering amyloid beta load in 5xFAD mice.

Epidemiological studies reveal that air pollution exposure may exacerbate neurodegeneration. Ultrafine particles (UFPs) are pollutants that remain unregulated in ambient air by environmental agencies. Due to their small size (<100 nm), UFPs have the most potential to cross the bodily barriers and thus impact the brain. However, little information exists about how UFPs affect brain function. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, which has been linked to air pollutant exposure, yet limited information is available on the mechanistic connection between them. This study aims to decipher the effects of UFPs in the brain and periphery using the 5xFAD mouse model of AD. In our study design, AD mice and their wildtype littermates were subjected to 2-weeks inhalation exposure of UFPs in a whole-body chamber. That subacute exposure did not affect the amyloid-beta accumulation. However, when multiple cytokines were analyzed, we found increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the brain and periphery, with a predominant alteration of interferon-gamma in response to UFP exposure in both genotypes. Following exposure, mitochondrial superoxide dismutase was significantly upregulated only in the 5xFAD hippocampi, depicting oxidative stress induction in the exposed AD mouse group. These data demonstrate that short-term exposure to inhaled UFPs induces inflammation without affecting amyloid-beta load. This study provides a better understanding of adverse effects caused by short-term UFP exposure in the brain and periphery, also in the context of AD.

Systemic Inflammation Induced Changes in Protein Expression of ABC Transporters and Ionotropic Glutamate Receptor Subunit 1 in the Cerebral Cortex of Familial Alzheimer`s Disease Mouse Model.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an incurable disease, with complex pathophysiology and a myriad of proteins involved in its development. In this study, we applied quantitative targeted absolute proteomic analysis for investigation of changes in potential AD drug targets, biomarkers, and transporters in cerebral cortices of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation mouse model, familial AD mice (APdE9) with and without LPS treatment as compared to age-matched wild type (WT) mice. The ABCB1, ABCG2 and GluN1 protein expression ratios between LPS treated APdE9 and WT control mice were 0.58 (95% CI 0.44-0.72), 0.65 (95% CI 0.53-0.77) and 0.61 (95% CI 0.52-0.69), respectively. The protein expression levels of other proteins such as MGLL, COX-2, CytC, ABCC1, ABCC4, SLC2A1 and SLC7A5 did not differ between the study groups. Overall, the study revealed that systemic inflammation can alter ABCB1 and ABCG2 protein expression in brain in AD, which can affect intra-brain drug distribution and play a role in AD development. Moreover, the inflammatory insult caused by peripheral infection in AD may be important factor triggering changes in GluN1 protein expression. However, more studies need to be performed in order to confirm these findings. The quantitative information about the expression of selected proteins provides important knowledge, which may help in the optimal use of the mouse models in AD drug development and better translation of preclinical data to humans.

Metabolomic and lipidomic changes triggered by lipopolysaccharide-induced systemic inflammation in transgenic APdE9 mice.

Peripheral infections followed by systemic inflammation may contribute to the onset of Alzheimer`s disease (AD) and accelerate the disease progression later in life. Yet, the impact of systemic inflammation on the plasma and brain tissue metabolome and lipidome in AD has not been investigated. In this study, targeted metabolomic and untargeted lipidomic profiling experiments were performed on the plasma, cortices, and hippocampi of wild-type (WT) mice and transgenic APdE9 mice after chronic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment, as well as saline-treated APdE9 mice. The lipidome and the metabolome of these mice were compared to saline-treated WT animals. In the brain tissue of all three models, the lipidome was more influenced than the metabolome. The LPS-treated APdE9 mice had the highest number of changes in brain metabolic pathways with significant alterations in levels of lysine, myo-inositol, spermine, phosphocreatine, acylcarnitines and diacylglycerols, which were not observed in the saline-treated APdE9 mice. In the WT mice, the effect of the LPS administration on metabolome and lipidome was negligible. The study provided exciting information about the biochemical perturbations due to LPS-induced inflammation in the transgenic AD model, which can significantly enhance our understanding of the role of systemic inflammation in AD pathogenesis.

An arylthiazyne derivative is a potent inhibitor of lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis providing neuroprotection in vitro and in vivo.

Lipid peroxidation-initiated ferroptosis is an iron-dependent mechanism of programmed cell death taking place in neurological diseases. Here we show that a condensed benzo[b]thiazine derivative small molecule with an arylthiazine backbone (ADA-409-052) inhibits tert-Butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP)-induced lipid peroxidation (LP) and protects against ferroptotic cell death triggered by glutathione (GSH) depletion or glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4) inhibition in neuronal cell lines. In addition, ADA-409-052 suppresses pro-inflammatory activation of BV2 microglia and protects N2a neuronal cells from cell death induced by pro-inflammatory RAW 264.7 macrophages. Moreover, ADA-409-052 efficiently reduces infarct volume, edema and expression of pro-inflammatory genes in a mouse model of thromboembolic stroke. Targeting ferroptosis may be a promising therapeutic strategy in neurological diseases involving severe neuronal death and neuroinflammation.

Peripheral inflammation preceeding ischemia impairs neuronal survival through mechanisms involving miR-127 in aged animals.

Ischemic stroke, the third leading cause of death in the Western world, affects mainly the elderly and is strongly associated with comorbid conditions such as atherosclerosis or diabetes, which are pathologically characterized by increased inflammation and are known to influence the outcome of stroke. Stroke incidence peaks during influenza seasons, and patients suffering from infections such as pneumonia prior to stroke exhibit a worse stroke outcome. Earlier studies have shown that comorbidities aggravate the outcome of stroke, yet the mediators of this phenomenon remain obscure. Here, we show that acute peripheral inflammation aggravates stroke-induced neuronal damage and motor deficits specifically in aged mice. This is associated with increased levels of plasma proinflammatory cytokines, rather than with an increase of inflammatory mediators in the affected brain parenchyma. Nascent transcriptomics data with mature microRNA sequencing were used to identify the neuron-specific miRNome, in order to decipher dysregulated miRNAs in the brains of aged animals with stroke and co-existing inflammation. We pinpoint a previously uninvestigated miRNA in the brain, miR-127, that is highly neuronal, to be associated with increased cell death in the aged, LPS-injected ischemic mice. Target prediction tools indicate that miR-127 interacts with several basally expressed neuronal genes, and of these we verify miR-127 binding to Psmd3. Finally, we report reduced expression of miR-127 in human stroke brains. Our results underline the impact of peripheral inflammation on the outcome of stroke in aged subjects and pinpoint molecular targets for restoring endogenous neuronal capacity to combat ischemic stroke.

Functional Characterization of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Models of the Brain with Microelectrode Arrays.

Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived neuron cultures have emerged as models of electrical activity in the human brain. Microelectrode arrays (MEAs) measure changes in the extracellular electric potential of cell cultures or tissues and enable the recording of neuronal network activity. MEAs have been applied to both human subjects and hPSC-derived brain models. Here, we review the literature on the functional characterization of hPSC-derived two- and three-dimensional brain models with MEAs and examine their network function in physiological and pathological contexts. We also summarize MEA results from the human brain and compare them to the literature on MEA recordings of hPSC-derived brain models. MEA recordings have shown network activity in two-dimensional hPSC-derived brain models that is comparable to the human brain and revealed pathology-associated changes in disease models. Three-dimensional hPSC-derived models such as brain organoids possess a more relevant microenvironment, tissue architecture and potential for modeling the network activity with more complexity than two-dimensional models. hPSC-derived brain models recapitulate many aspects of network function in the human brain and provide valid disease models, but certain advancements in differentiation methods, bioengineering and available MEA technology are needed for these approaches to reach their full potential.

Microglia-like Cells Promote Neuronal Functions in Cerebral Organoids.

Human cerebral organoids, derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, offer a unique in vitro research window to the development of the cerebral cortex. However, a key player in the developing brain, the microglia, do not natively emerge in cerebral organoids. Here we show that erythromyeloid progenitors (EMPs), differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells, migrate to cerebral organoids, and mature into microglia-like cells and interact with synaptic material. Patch-clamp electrophysiological recordings show that the microglia-like population supported the emergence of more mature and diversified neuronal phenotypes displaying repetitive firing of action potentials, low-threshold spikes and synaptic activity, while multielectrode array recordings revealed spontaneous bursting activity and increased power of gamma-band oscillations upon pharmacological challenge with NMDA. To conclude, microglia-like cells within the organoids promote neuronal and network maturation and recapitulate some aspects of microglia-neuron co-development in vivo, indicating that cerebral organoids could be a useful biorealistic human in vitro platform for studying microglia-neuron interactions.