In the midbrain of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra region are vulnerable for degeneration, while those of the ventral tegmental area are not. This selective vulnerability is not understood, due to a lack of human-specific midbrain models. Schwamborn’s work shows that 3D differentiation of human midbrain neural progenitor cells leads to organoids that can produce and secrete dopamine, and contain other neuronal subtypes, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Enriching them with induced pluripotent stem cell derived microglia also generates patient and disease-specific midbrain organoids. Key hallmarks of PD can be recapitulated, while reproducibly generating 3D human midbrain organoids containing mDANs to investigate PD-relevant patho-mechanisms.

Jens Christian Schwamborn, PhD
Professor, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB)
University of Luxembourg

Hosted by the Center for Neuroregeneration, Department of Neurosurgery