Miniature brain: Barcelona researchers create ‘mini versions’ of this organ to understand Alzheimer’s disease

Research team from Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBCR)depending on Pascual Maragall Foundationcreates in vitro “mini-brains” from stem cells to better understand Alzheimer’s disease. Measuring three to four cubic millimeters, they can be generated by many different parts of the human brain in an attempt to understand in great detail the factors that contribute to their appearance and development.

These brain organoids mimic the functions of the real brain and are three-dimensional cell cultures with the structure is similar to a human organthey may therefore be vital to understanding the functioning of this and other highly complex diseases. “Are very powerful forecasting tool “Which contributes to the analysis of various genetic factors in the development of the disease,” explains the doctor. Laura Garcia GonzalezPostdoctoral Fellow in the BBRC Genomics Research Group.

Laura leads the project, starting in 2022, in which they began generate stem cells from specialized cells obtained in blood samples study participants. Through a process called cellular reprogrammingthey erased the identity of the extracted cells and thus turned them into stem cells. With their help, they began to generate organelles, thanks to which they could “to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms of the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.”which brings us closer to preventing, slowing or even stopping the progression of the disease.”

The obvious advantage of this innovative method is the absence of animal experiments. In addition, the project opened other areas of research using these organoids. One of them is the creation of a stem cell bank, which can serve as a platform for screening for new drug treatments. Another open path was to conduct research impact of COVID-19 on the brain people with a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease.

Models in vitro human organs is one of the latest achievements in the field of biomedical research and this is increasingly being seen in the medical field. Their main advantage in the case of the brain is that they offer “a more accurate representation than two-dimensional cultures or animal models,” reproducing “both structural and functional aspects” of the organ. Increased knowledge of stem cells is now allowing us to create human organoids. from any human tissue.

“Over the past decade,” the Pascual Maragall Foundation says on its website, “numerous research centers have begun to use this technology to model neurological diseases and as a platform for drug screening.” They still have some limitations such as lack of blood vessels or immune cellsbut they already represent a great asset for researchers. “Except, have the same genetic identity than the person from whom the sample was taken.”