Custom Brain Spheroid

Introduction of Brain Spheroid

The brain spheroids, also known as 3-dimensional brain cultures or cerebral organoids, refer to spherical laboratory-grown human brain tissue with 4mm in diameter. Inside the brain spheroids, thousands of neurons communicate with each other with an electric pulse. As an impressive form of tissue culture, they can't generate emotions and thoughts. Since it is very difficult to connect a functioning circulatory system to the spheroids, it seems impossible in theory to make a larger and more developed sphere.

Fig.1 Assessment of cell localization, tight junction protein expression, and barrier properties in self-assembled spheroids. (Nzou, 2018)

Brain Spheroid-Based Research

Recent studies showed that brain spheroids have been used for the study of oligodendrocytes and related diseases. Based on standard brain spheroid, some extra steps allow the generation of brain spheroids containing both neurons and oligodendrocytes. The custom spheroids can then be used for disorders research that impairs myelination and oligodendrocyte development. Firstly, the custom spheroids were treated with two FDA-approved drugs, then accelerated oligodendrocyte development and myelination can be observed. Next, the novel spheroids with genetic mutations in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease were generated. In this case, novel drugs can be discovered using these disease-mimicking brain spheroids.

Generation of Brain Spheroid

For different disease processes, Creative Biolabs can generate a variety of brain spheroids types for neurology and oncology research. The brain spheroid can be generated from stem cells derived from a sample of human hair or skin. Compared with 2-dimensional counterparts, 3-dimensional brain cultures are much more complex to better model the human brain in vitro. Equipped with a special sample holder and sensitive imaging detectors, 3D images of brain spheroids can be obtained without slicing them.

Fig.2 Schematics show the timeline of processes involved in minibrain development. (Govindan, 2021)

Applications and Advantages of Brain Spheroid

• High-throughput screening for drug discovery and toxicity testing
• Provide alternatives to some animal testing
• Understand how the brain develops
• Allow imaging and visualization
• Reproducible and cost-effective
• Cell therapy validation

Creative Biolabs is one of the well-recognized experts who are professional in applying advanced platforms for a broad range of neurosciences research, now we provide the novel STEMOD™ neuroscience ex vivo models for our clients all over the world. We can enable you to free up your time for core work and projects. If you are interested in our services and products, please do not hesitate to contact us for more detailed information.

References

1. Nzou, G.; et al. Human cortex spheroid with a functional blood brain barrier for high-throughput neurotoxicity screening and disease modeling. Scientific reports. 2018, 8(1): 1-10.
2. Govindan, S.; et al. Mass generation, neuron labeling, and 3D imaging of minibrains. Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology. 2021, 8: 1436.

For Research Use Only. Not For Clinical Use.