Somatic and Stem Cell Bank to study the contribution of African ancestry to dementia: African iPSC Initiative.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Africa, home to 1.4 billion people and the highest genetic diversity globally, harbors unique genetic variants crucial for understanding complex diseases like neurodegenerative disorders. However, African populations remain underrepresented in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) collections, limiting the exploration of population-specific disease mechanisms and therapeutic discoveries.

Methods

To address this gap, we established an open-access African Somatic and Stem Cell Bank.

Results

In this initial phase, we generated 10 rigorously characterized iPSC lines from fibroblasts representing five Nigerian ethnic groups and both sexes. These lines underwent extensive profiling for pluripotency, genetic stability, differentiation potential, and Alzheimer's d

SUBMITTER: Maina MB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11992592 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature