Scientists Replace Mouse Cortex with Human Brain Tissue to Study Neurological Disorders
The transplanted human neurons expanded to about 4 million and improved memory and social behavior in the mice, researchers said.
- Stanford University psychiatry professor Sergiu P. Pa'ca led a team that transplanted human cortical organoids into genetically engineered mice missing much of their cerebral cortex, creating a new brain model; researchers clarified this is not a "human brain inside a mouse."
- Scientists previously relied on lab-grown organoids, but these lacked the complex environment, blood supply, and sensory inputs of an intact nervous system, prompting Pa'ca to seek a way to let human brain clusters mature in a living animal.
- The grafted human tissue matured substantially, forming long-distance connections and specialized von Economo neurons, while synchronized electrical activity across the graft correlated with the mice's physical movements in the cage.
- These mice exhibited human-like vulnerability to oxygen deprivation, providing researchers with a measurable behavioral model to study cerebral palsy and the underlying mechanisms of complex brain injury.
- Although the research could advance precision medicine for psychiatric conditions, experts Nita Farahany, professor of law and philosophy at Duke Law, and Hongkui Zeng, executive vice president and director of brain science at the Allen Institute, emphasize the study enters "new gray areas" requiring rigorous ethical oversight.
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14 Articles
Scientists transplant lab-grown human brain tissue into mice
Scientists have transplanted laboratory-grown human brain tissue into bioengineered mice in what they call an important advance for studying human brain development that may speed research into the causes and mechanisms of devastating disorders such as profound autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and schizophrenia. The researchers said the human tissue replicated key features of brain development […]
Scientists replace mouse cortex with human brain tissue to study neurological disorders
Scientists have successfully replaced the cortex of genetically modified mice with lab-grown human brain tissue. The transplanted human cells formed functioning circuits and responded to injury, offering a revolutionary new way to study human neurological disorders.
Neuroscientists in the US have successfully modified mice to have human cells in their brains, hoping that the rodents will now be used to test potential treatments for psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders unique to humans, the BBC reports.
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