Dual developmental effects of ARX poly-alanine mutations on human cortical excitatory and inhibitory neurons.

ABSTRACT: Infantile spasms (IS), a severe childhood epilepsy with an incidence of 1.6-4.5 per 10,000 live births, often lead to lifelong intellectual disability. Up to 5% of affected males carry mutations in the Aristaless-related homeobox (ARX) gene. The lack of human-specific models for developmental epilepsy limits progress, making organoids a promising alternative. We use human cortical organoids (COs) and ganglionic eminence organoids (GEOs) to model poly-alanine expansion (PAE) mutations in ARX. PAE mutations increase cortical progenitor proliferation and accelerate early cortical development. ARX expression is upregulated in patient-derived COs at 30 days in vitro (DIV), correlating with altered cell cycle gene expression. We observe enhanced, cell-autonomous interneuron migration, which is r

SUBMITTER: Nieto-Estevez V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12934246 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature