Stem cell therapy has come a long way since its first usage. What began as a way to grow small scale components of the human body like minor muscle tissue, has now evolved into something that has even wider applications. Now a days, stem cell therapy is potent enough to create working replicas of actual human organs. And recently, scientists from the Kyoto University in Japan used some advanced methods to even grow organoids that resembled the cerebrum of the human brain. With this new development, scientists hope to understand various functions such as memory and other fundamental mechanisms within the brain.
The scientists achieved this feat by using human pluripotent stem cells (HPSc) to construct the cerebral tissue. Having a similar structure and physiology to that of the human cerebrum, they are able to mimic the functions complex collection of neural networks. This not only makes it a good substitute to understand the brain’s functioning, but can also be used to treat cerebrum related diseases such as microcephaly, glioblastoma, etc.
The researchers began by placing a ball of HPScs in a culture medium that had an environment that was ideal for cerebral development. Then, through the usage of the SFEBq (serum free floating culture of embryoid body like aggregates with quick reaggregation) method, the team was able to generate functioning organoid. The culturing of these organoids went on for 100 days where in the researchers dissociated them into single cells and disseminated them into another culture dish. Following this, the disseminated cells began forming neuronal networks in a self organized manner.
The researchers then built maps of patterns reflecting the activity of over a 1000 cells by measuring the activity of calcium ions in the neuronal cells. They did this via a popular technique that involves using confocal or multiphoton microscopy to detect the fluorescence produced when calcium ions bind to calcium indicators in neurons.And since abnormal fluctuations in the calcium ion signals are associated with brain disorders, having such readings is thought to be a key factor in improving our understanding about such disorders.
Moreover, by combining this method with a high content analytical approach, the researchers were able to visualize synchronized and non-synchronized network clusters which enabled them to extract further intricate information on cell distribution.
Creating human organs from scratch may seem like something straight out of science fiction, but it has become possible today. Relevant research is bound to continue and further advancements are undoubtedly imminent. But at the moment, there are still several technological, and even ethical issues to cross before it becomes mainstream. Once we’ve crossed all these hurdles, according to scientists, stem cell culture will be used in various departments of healthcare such as drug discovery, modelling of neuropsychiatric disorders and even regenerative medicine. So let us trust in our smartest minds and look forward to a brighter, safer future.