Scientists Grow Mini Brains in the Laboratory! | Brain organoids

This episode is all about brain organoids. Cerebral organoids or brain organoids were developed in 2013 by Madeline Lancaster and Jürgen Knoblich. Brain organoids are also called mini-brains” and they are a powerful tool to grow brain-like structures in petri dishes. Brain organoids enable studies on the development of brains, brain diseases or brain infections. In this video, we will talk how we can make brain organoids and how we use brain organoids.

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0:00 - Introduction to Brain Organoids
1:29 - What are Brain Organoids?
2:41 - How to Make Brain Organoids
5:09 - Studying Development with Brain Organoids
6:49 - Zika Virus, COVID-19 and Brain Organoids
8:44 - Schizophrenia, Autism, Depression and Brain Organoids

Okay, so what are brain organoids? Brain organoids or cerebral organoids are laboratory-grown structures which mimic parts of the brain. Brain organoids establish regions with multiple layers of neurons comparable to the developing brain. However, cells within brain organoids are less specific compared to cells we find in the brain. We also do not find any specific "brain-like" activities in brain organoids.
To grow brain organoids in the laboratory, we start by cultivating induced pluripotent cells (IPSCs). These stem cells can be generated from skin cells by the administration of the Yamanaka factors. Then, we feed our induced pluripotent stem cells with certain molecules to make embryoid bodies. Embryoid bodies are structures which contain cells of the developing embryo. To make brain organoids, we transfer our organoid to a droplet of matrigel which provides stability.
We can study brain development and many diseases using brain organoids. Concerning development, brain organoids contain different types of cortical neurons and also form layers we find in the developing embryo. We also find outer subventricular zones in brain organoids. In Medicine, we can use brain organoids to study infectious or developmental diseases. A few years ago, brain organoids were used to identify the zika virus as the main cause of an epidemic in Brazil. Right now, scientist also try to identify whether brain organoids can be infected with SARS-CoV-2. This might help to explain damages to the central nervous system which have been reported by patients during the current COVID-19 pandemic. We can also mutate genes, such as DISC-1, to find out their contributions to neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia, the autism spectrum disorder or also depression. Concerning DISC-1, it was found that brain radial glial cells are not able to properly produce neurons in brain organoids if the gene is disrupted.

For your further research:
Mason, John O., and David J. Price. "Building brains in a dish: prospects for growing cerebral organoids from stem cells." Neuroscience 334 (2016): 105-118.
Di Lullo, Elizabeth, and Arnold R. Kriegstein. "The use of brain organoids to investigate neural development and disease." Nature Reviews Neuroscience 18.10 (2017): 573.
Lancaster, Madeline A., and Juergen A. Knoblich. "Generation of cerebral organoids from human pluripotent stem cells." Nature protocols 9, no. 10 (2014): 2329.
Garcez, Patricia P., et al. "Zika virus impairs growth in human neurospheres and brain organoids." Science 352.6287 (2016): 816-818.
Ye, Fei, et al. "DISC1 regulates neurogenesis via modulating kinetochore attachment of Ndel1/Nde1 during mitosis." Neuron 96.5 (2017): 1041-1054.
Images:
Some pictures were derived from Servier Medical Art by Servier. You can find over 3000 free medical images here: https://smart.servier.com/

Music:
Intro:
Light Sting by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
Transitions:
Light Thought var 3 by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Artist: http://incompetech.com/

About Clemens Steinek:
CLEMENS STEINEK is a postgraduate student/youtuber (LifeLabLearner) who is currently conducting stem cell research in Germany.

Видео Scientists Grow Mini Brains in the Laboratory! | Brain organoids канала Sciencerely