Project description:Midbrain organoids are advanced in vitro cellular models for disease modelling. They have been used successfully over the past decade for Parkinson’s disease (PD) research and drug development. The three-dimensional structure and multicellular composition allow disease research under more physiological conditions than is possible with conventional 2D cellular models. However, there are concerns in the field regarding the organoid batch-to-batch variability and thus the reproducibility of the results. In this manuscript, we generate multiple independent midbrain organoid batches derived from healthy individuals or GBA-N370S mutation-carrying PD patients to evaluate the reproducibility of the GBA-N370S mutation-associated PD transcriptomic and metabolic signature as well as selected protein abundance. Our analysis shows that GBA-PD-associated phenotypes are reproducible across organoid generation batches and time points. This proves that midbrain organoids are not only suitable for PD in vitro modelling, but also represent robust and highly reproducible cellular models.
Project description:Midbrain organoids are advanced in vitro cellular models for disease modelling. They have been used successfully over the past decade for Parkinson’s disease (PD) research and drug development. The three-dimensional structure and multicellular composition allow disease research under more physiological conditions than is possible with conventional 2D cellular models. However, there are concerns in the field regarding the organoid batch-to-batch variability and thus the reproducibility of the results. In this manuscript, we generate multiple independent midbrain organoid batches derived from healthy individuals or GBA-N370S mutation-carrying PD patients to evaluate the reproducibility of the GBA-N370S mutation-associated PD transcriptomic and metabolic signature as well as selected protein abundance. Our analysis shows that GBA-PD-associated phenotypes are reproducible across organoid generation batches and time points. This proves that midbrain organoids are not only suitable for PD in vitro modelling, but also represent robust and highly reproducible cellular models.
Project description:Cardiac maturation is an important developmental phase where there are profound biological and functional changes after birth in mammals. Herein, we use our profiling of human heart maturation in vivo to identify key drivers of maturation in our human cardiac organoid (hCO) model. In this dataset, we exemplified the applicability of our mature organoids in modelling cardiovascular disease. Pathogenesis of Desmoplakin (DSP) cardiomyopathies are driven by complex cellular interplay and changes in excitation-contraction coupling. A patient (MCHTB11), was screened against a 202 cardiac gene panel for clinically-relevant rare DNA variants (frequency < 0.04%). A homozygous 2 bp deletion was identified in the DSP gene, and recapitulated in our hCOs utilising CRISPR. In this screen, we also utilised INCB054329, a bromodomain extra-terminal inhibitor, to suppress diastolic dysfunction induced by the DSP mutant. In this dataset, we evaluate the proteomic remodelling induced by DSP-mutants (DSP) versus recovered mutants (CTRL), with and without INCB (n=3-4 for each group).
Project description:Interventions: test group:Drugs based on organoid drug screening results;control group:Standard second-line drugs
Primary outcome(s): ORR
Study Design: Parallel
Project description:Dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is characterized by the progressive loss of retinal pigment epithelium cells in the macula, leading to photoreceptor degeneration and loss of central vision. Current treatments can only slow disease progression in some cases, but once photoreceptors are damaged, vision loss becomes irreversible. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop therapies that prevent photoreceptor cell death. A critical step toward this goal is establishing pathophysiologically relevant human disease models for therapeutic testing. In this study, we developed a human- induced pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal organoid (RO) model that recapitulates key aspects of AMD-associated photoreceptor degeneration. Since cigarette smoking is a major environmental risk factor for AMD, we exposed ROs to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) to induce cellular stress. CSE treatment resulted in increased reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, and cell death primarily in the outer nuclear layer. Photoreceptor degeneration in this model involves the activation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway and ferroptosis, which is accompanied by lipid peroxidation and dysregulation of the glutathione system. Comprehensive proteomic analysis confirmed the dysregulation of metabolic and stress response pathways. The integration of this model with robust, quantitative outcome measures in live ROs offers a powerful platform for preclinical drug screening and therapeutic evaluation.