STEMdiff™ Ventral Forebrain Organoid Differentiation Kit

Cell culture medium kit for robust generation of ventral forebrain neural organoids from human pluripotent stem cells

STEMdiff™ Ventral Forebrain Organoid Differentiation Kit

Cell culture medium kit for robust generation of ventral forebrain neural organoids from human pluripotent stem cells

From: 750 USD
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Cell culture medium kit for robust generation of ventral forebrain neural organoids from human pluripotent stem cells
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Product Advantages


  • Reduce handling and media waste with fusion-free growth media

  • Obtain greater analytic sensitivity for disease phenotypes with reproducible morphology between lines and individual organoids

  • Generate over 500 organoids per kit using AggreWell™800 for higher-powered statistical replicates and more detailed longitudinal study

  • Eliminate matrix embedding steps with the matrix-free formulation and protocol

  • Easily process and section consistently sized organoids

  • Achieve long-term culture survival and reduced caspase-3 expression for neurotoxicity and neurodegenerative models

  • Combine modular region-patterned organoids to generate advanced AssemBloids™ for disease modeling and regenerative applications

What's Included

  • STEMdiff™ Neural Organoid Basal Medium 1, 20 mL
  • STEMdiff™ Neural Organoid Basal Medium 2, 500 mL
  • STEMdiff™ Neural Organoid Supplement A, 10 mL
  • STEMdiff™ Neural Organoid Supplement B, 0.25 mL
  • STEMdiff™ Neural Organoid Supplement C, 0.25 mL
  • STEMdiff™ Neural Organoid Supplement D, 0.5 mL
Products for Your Protocol
To see all required products for your protocol, please consult the Protocols and Documentation.

Overview

Robustly generate three-dimensional, patterned brain organoid cultures from human pluripotent stem cells without matrix embedding. STEMdiff™ Dorsal and Ventral Forebrain Organoid Differentiation Kits are serum-free cell culture media that work with AggreWell™-generated embryoid bodies to prevent organoid fusion and enable the scalable generation of over 500 highly reproducible organoids per kit. Adapted from protocols by Sergiu Paşca (F Birey et al. Nature, 2017), these brain-region-specific organoids are three-dimensional in vitro models with a cellular composition and structural organization that is representative of the developing human forebrain. STEMdiff™ Dorsal Forebrain Organoid Differentiation Kit (Catalog #08620) generates tissue of the early developing dorsal pallium, while STEMdiff™ Ventral Forebrain Organoid Differentiation Kit (Catalog #08630) generates tissue of the early developing ventral subpallium. Organoids generated with these kits can also be co-cultured as assembloids to study brain region interactions (F Birey et al. Nature, 2017). For extended periods of organoid culture (> 50 days), the components required for organoid maintenance are available as STEMdiff™ Neural Organoid Maintenance Kit (Catalog #100-0120).
Subtype
Specialized Media
Cell Type
Neural Cells, PSC-Derived, Neural Stem and Progenitor Cells, Pluripotent Stem Cells
Species
Human
Application
Cell Culture, Characterization, Differentiation, Functional Assay, Immunofluorescence, Organoid Culture, Phenotyping, Spheroid Culture
Brand
STEMdiff
Area of Interest
Disease Modeling, Drug Discovery and Toxicity Testing, Neuroscience, Organoids
Formulation Category
Serum-Free

Data Figures

Schematic protocol diagram to generate patterned ventral forebrain organoids from iPSCs

Figure 1. Schematic for the STEMdiff™ Ventral Forebrain Organoid Differentiation Kit

Human ES or iPS cell-derived ventral forebrain organoids can be generated in 43 days. Embryoid bodies can be created in 6 days with AggreWell™800 plates. The EBs are then cultured in suspension, allowing growth and subsequent patterning to the ventral forebrain. For the long-term maintenance and further maturation of ventral forebrain organoids, see the PIS.

Schematic protocol diagram to generate patterned ventral forebrain organoids from iPSCs

Figure 2. STEMdiff™ Ventral Forebrain Organoid Differentiation Kit Supports the Generation of Homogeneous Organoids

(A) Neural aggregates formed in AggreWell™800 microwell plates exhibit uniform size and shape at day 6. H9-derived ventral forebrain organoids from a single batch have spherical morphology at days (B) 15 (C) 25 (D) 50 (E) 75 and (F) 100. Scale bar = 1 mm. (G) Ventral forebrain organoids exhibit homogeneous size over multiple cell lines (average ± SD, using 11 cell lines with 3 - 5 organoids counted per cell line and time point).

Schematic protocol diagram to generate patterned ventral forebrain organoids from iPSCs

Figure 3. STEMdiff™ Dorsal and Ventral Forebrain Organoid Differentiation Kits Reduce Unwanted Organoid Fusion

Whole-well images of dorsal forebrain organoid cultures derived from the H9 cell line in STEMdiff™ Forebrain Organoid Expansion Medium (bottom row) vs. the control published formulation (top row) show the extent of fusion typical in control media without orbital shaking. At Day 10 post-seeding in the control formulation, 12/12 organoids that were seeded are developing, but by Day 20 a single, larger organoid can be seen in the well. In STEMdiff™ Forebrain Organoid Expansion Medium, 20/20 seeded organoids are developing and 20/20 are still developing at Day 20 without shaking. While organoids in both culture conditions grow larger between 10 and 20 days, the reduction in organoids and enlarged size in the control formulation suggest a reduction in organoid yield due to organoid fusion.

Schematic protocol diagram to generate patterned ventral forebrain organoids from iPSCs

Figure 4. Ventral Forebrain Organoids Exhibit Brain-Region-Specific Marker Expression as They Mature

(A) Ventral forebrain organoids at day 25 exhibit a high level of expression of NKX2.1 (magenta; DAPI, gray). (B) NKX2.1-positive neurons (magenta; DAPI, cyan) are plentiful by Day 50 (DAPI, cyan), but Somatostatin-positive GABAergic interneurons (SST, green) are rare. (C) By day 75, SST-positive interneurons (green; NKX2.1, magenta) are observable.

Schematic protocol diagram to generate patterned ventral forebrain organoids from iPSCs

Figure 5. Neural Organoids Generated with STEMdiff™ Dorsal and Ventral Forebrain Organoid Kits Express Key Markers of Brain-Region-Specific Patterning

RNA from single organoids was harvested at a series of time points and subsequently assayed using bulk RNA-seq (1 data column = 1 organoid). (A) Heat map of select genes shows that both dorsal forebrain organoids (DFO) and ventral forebrain organoids (VFO) express the forebrain-specific marker FOXG1 while showing a shift from neural progenitor fates to neuronal cell types. (B) DFO express increasing levels of cortex- and glutaminergic neuron-specific genes from day 25 to 75. (C) Day 25 VFO exhibit high expression of markers of the medial ganglionic eminence and of GABAergic neurons. Heat map scale quantifies gene expression across each row with a normalized z-score for each gene.

Schematic protocol diagram to generate patterned ventral forebrain organoids from iPSCs

Figure 6. Dorsal Forebrain Organoids, Not Ventral Forebrain Organoids, Display Early Network Bursting Activity

Day 50 dorsal and ventral forebrain organoids were plated on a microelectrode array (MEA; CytoView MEA 96, Axion Biosystems) coated with 0.1% polyethyleneimine in borate buffer and 20 µg/mL CellAdhere™ Laminin-521. Activity from 8 electrodes per well was recorded once per week for 4 weeks using a Maestro MEA system (Axion Biosystems). (A) Representative bright field image of dorsal and ventral forebrain organoids on the MEA. Insets show representative spike rate heat maps for the corresponding well (red = 12 spikes/sec). Scale bar = 1 mm. (B) Raster plots of spike activity show increasing network bursting (pink lines) for dorsal forebrain organoids between week 1 and week 4, whereas no network bursting is observed in the ventral forebrain organoid (lower panels) over the same time period. (C) Mean firing rate (average ± SEM; 3 - 6 organoids per time point) increases for dorsal forebrain organoids but not ventral forebrain organoids over 4 weeks of measurements.

Figure 7. Fluorescent Imaging in BrainPhys™ Imaging Optimized Medium Improves Signal-to-Background Ratios of 3D Neural Cultures

GFP-labeled ventral forebrain organoids were co-cultured and merged with unlabeled dorsal forebrain organoids for one week prior to live imaging in Forebrain Organoid Differentiation Medium from STEMdiff™ Dorsal Forebrain Organoid Differentiation Kit (right) or BrainPhys™ Imaging Optimized Medium (BPI, left). Interneuron migration can be visualized more clearly in BPI. Scale bar top panels = 300μm; scale bar bottom = 100μm. Adapted from Zabolocki et al. 2020, Nature Communications, available under a Creative Commons 4.0 License. For experimental details on generating AssemBloids™ from dorsal and ventral forebrain organoid co-cultures, see the protocol in our Methods Library.

Protocols and Documentation

Find supporting information and directions for use in the Product Information Sheet or explore additional protocols below.

Document Type
Product Name
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Catalog #
08630
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All
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English
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Safety Data Sheet 1
Catalog #
08630
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All
Language
English
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Safety Data Sheet 2
Catalog #
08630
Lot #
All
Language
English
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Safety Data Sheet 3
Catalog #
08630
Lot #
All
Language
English
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Safety Data Sheet 4
Catalog #
08630
Lot #
All
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English
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Safety Data Sheet 5
Catalog #
08630
Lot #
All
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English
Document Type
Safety Data Sheet 6
Catalog #
08630
Lot #
All
Language
English

Applications

This product is designed for use in the following research area(s) as part of the highlighted workflow stage(s). Explore these workflows to learn more about the other products we offer to support each research area.

Resources and Publications

Educational Materials (21)

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