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Neural Organoids

Neural organoids, also known as cerebral organoids, are hPSC-derived three-dimensional in vitro culture systems that recapitulate the developmental processes and organization of the developing human brain. These ‘mini-brains’ provide a physiologically relevant in vitro 3D brain model for the study of neurological development and disease processes that are unique to the human nervous system. They have important applications in studying human brain development and neurological disorders such as autism, schizophrenia or brain defects caused by Zika virus infection.

We've created these resources to support your work with cerebral organoids, and to give you a glimpse into how cerebral organoids are being used by scientists in the field of neuroscience.

Key Neural Organoid Publications

Neural Spheroids

Paşca AM et al. (2015) Functional cortical neurons and astrocytes from human pluripotent stem cells in 3D culture. Nat Methods 12(7): 671–8.

Forebrain-Specific Organoids

Lancaster MA et al. (2017) Guided self-organization and cortical plate formation in human brain organoids. Nature Biotechnology 35(7): 659–66.
Birey F et al. (2017) Assembly of functionally integrated human forebrain spheroids. Nature 545(7652): 54–9.
Kadoshima T et al. (2013) Self-organization of axial polarity, inside-out layer pattern, and species-specific progenitor dynamics in human ES cell-derived neocortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 110(50): 20284–9.
Eiraku M et al. (2008) Self-organized formation of polarized cortical tissues from ESCs and its active manipulation by extrinsic signals. Cell Stem Cell 3(5): 519–32.

Pituitary-Specific Organoids

Suga H et al. (2011) Self-formation of functional adeno- hypophysis in three-dimensional culture. Nature 480(7375): 57-62.

Hypothalamus-Specific Organoids

Wataya T et al. (2008) Minimization of exogenous signals in ES cell culture induces rostral hypothalamic differentiation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 105(33): 11796–801.

Cerebellum-Specific Organoids

Mariani J et al. (2015) FOXG1-Dependent Dysregulation of GABA/Glutamate Neuron Differentiation in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Cell 162(2): 375–90.
Muguruma K et al. (2015) Self-organization of polarized cerebellar tissue in 3D culture of human pluripotent stem cells. Cell Rep 10(4): 537–50.
Muguruma K et al. (2010) Ontogeny-recapitulating generation and tissue integration of ES cell-derived Purkinje cells. Nat Neurosci 13(10): 1171–80.

Midbrain-Specific Organoids

Jo J et al. (2015) Midbrain-like organoids from human pluripotent stem cells contain functional dopaminergic and neuromelanin-producing neurons. Cell Stem Cell. 19(2): 248-57.

Retinal Spheroids

Zhu Y et al. (2013) Three-dimensional neuroepithelial culture from human embryonic stem cells and its use for quantitative conversion to retinal pigment epithelium. PLoS One 8(1): e54552.
Eiraku M et al. (2008) Self-organized formation of polarized cortical tissues from ESCs and its active manipulation by extrinsic signals. Cell Stem Cell 3(5): 519–32.

Whole-Brain Organoids

Lancaster MA and JA Knoblich. (2014) Generation of cerebral organoids from human pluripotent stem cells. Nat Protoc 9(10):2329-40.
Lancaster MA et al. (2014) Organogenesis in a dish: modeling development and disease using organoid technologies. Science 345(6194): 1247125.
Lancaster MA et al. (2013) Cerebral organoids model human brain development and microcephaly. Nature 501(1): 373–9.

Zika Virus

Watanabe M et al. (2017) Self-Organized Cerebral Organoids with Human-Specific Features Predict Effective Drugs to Combat Zika Virus Infection. Cell Reports 21(2): 517–32.
Gabriel E et al. (2017) Recent Zika virus isolates induce premature differentiation of neural progenitors in human brain organoids. Cell Stem Cell 20(3): 397-406.
Cugola FR et al. (2016) The Brazilian Zika virus strain causes birth defects in experimental models. Nature 534(7606): 267–71.
Dang J et al. (2016) Zika virus depletes neural progenitors in human cerebral organoids through activation of the innate immune receptor TLR3. Cell Stem Cell 19(2): 258–65.
Garcez PP et al. (2016) Zika virus impairs growth in human neurospheres and brain organoids. Science 352(6287): 816–8.
Qian X et al. (2016) Brain-region-specific organoids using mini-bioreactors for modeling ZIKV exposure. Cell 165(5): 1238–54.
Lancaster MA et al. (2013) Cerebral organoids model human brain development and microcephaly. Nature 501(1): 373–9.

Autism

Mariani J et al. (2015) FOXG1-dependent dysregulation of GABA/glutamate neuron differentiation in autism spectrum disorders. Cell 162(2): 375–90.

Other

Karzbrun E et al. (2018) Human brain organoids on a chip reveal the physics of folding. Nature Physics 14(5): 515-22.
Quadrato G et al. (2017) Cell diversity and network dynamics in photosensitive human brain organoids. Nature 545(7652): 48-53.