Department of Biotechnology
inStem (Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine)

iPSC-derived myelinoids to study myelin biology of humans.

Publication Type

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Date of Publication

May 3, 2021

Journal

Developmental cell

Volume/Issue

56/9

ISSN

1878-1551

Myelination is essential for central nervous system (CNS) formation, health, and function. Emerging evidence of oligodendrocyte heterogeneity in health and disease and divergent CNS gene expression profiles between mice and humans supports the development of experimentally tractable human myelination systems. Here, we developed human iPSC-derived myelinating organoids (“myelinoids”) and quantitative tools to study myelination from oligodendrogenesis through to compact myelin formation and myelinated axon organization. Using patient-derived cells, we modeled a monogenetic disease of myelinated axons (Nfasc155 deficiency), recapitulating impaired paranodal axo-glial junction formation. We also validated the use of myelinoids for pharmacological assessment of myelination-both at the level of individual oligodendrocytes and globally across whole myelinoids-and demonstrated reduced myelination in response to suppressed synaptic vesicle release. Our study provides a platform to investigate human myelin development, disease, and adaptive myelination.

Alternate Journal

Dev Cell

PubMed ID

33945785

PubMed Central ID

PMC8098746

Authors

Owen G James
Bhuvaneish T Selvaraj
Dario Magnani
Karen Burr
Peter Connick
Samantha K Barton
Navneet A Vasistha
David W Hampton
David Story
Robert Smigiel
Rafal Ploski
Peter J Brophy
Charles Ffrench-Constant
David A Lyons
Siddharthan Chandran

Keywords

Time Factors
Organoids
Axons
Myelin Sheath
Nerve Growth Factors
Tetanus Toxin
Humans
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells