Building brains in a dish: Prospects for growing cerebral organoids from stem cells.

The recent development of organoid techniques, in which embryonic brain-like tissue can be grown from human or mouse stem cells in vitro offers the potential to transform the way in which brain development is studied. In this review, we summarize key aspects of the embryonic development of mammalian forebrains, focussing in particular on the cerebral cortex and highlight significant differences between mouse and primates, including human. We discuss recent work using cerebral organoids that has revealed key similarities and differences between their development and that of the brain in vivo. Finally, we outline the ways in which cerebral organoids can be used in combination with CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to unravel genetic mechanisms that control embryonic development of the cerebral cortex, how this can help us understand the causes of neurodevelopmental disorders and some of the key challenges which will have to be resolved before organoids can become a mainstream tool to study brain development.

Mason JO ，Price DJ 《-》

Mouse vs man: Organoid models of brain development & disease.

Brain organoids have rapidly become established as promising tools for studying both the normal embryonic development of the brain and the mechanistic roots of neurodevelopmental disorders. Most recent studies are based on brain organoids derived from human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), as these are likely to be the best way to understand normal human development and disease. However, brain organoids grown from mouse cells still have a role to play. We discuss recent work showing how mice and mouse organoids can be employed to complement studies using human organoids. Mouse stem cell-derived organoids are useful for the development of improved protocols to generate organoids, including brain region-specific organoids. Importantly, the wealth of existing in vivo data on mouse brain development together with detailed descriptions of mutant phenotypes provide invaluable points of comparison to validate organoids as tools to study the genetics of brain development. Further, organoids have significant potential to replace or reduce the numbers of animals used in studies of normal brain development.

Marshall JJ ，Mason JO 《-》

Organoid technology for brain and therapeutics research.

Brain is one of the most complex organs in human. The current brain research is mainly based on the animal models and traditional cell culture. However, the inherent species differences between humans and animals as well as the gap between organ level and cell level make it difficult to study human brain development and associated disorders through traditional technologies. Recently, the brain organoids derived from pluripotent stem cells have been reported to recapitulate many key features of human brain in vivo, for example recapitulating the zone of putative outer radial glia cells. Brain organoids offer a new platform for scientists to study brain development, neurological diseases, drug discovery and personalized medicine, regenerative medicine, and so on. Here, we discuss the progress, applications, advantages, limitations, and prospects of brain organoid technology in neurosciences and related therapeutics.

Wang Z ，Wang SN ，Xu TY ，Miao ZW ，Su DF ，Miao CY ... -  《-》

Applications of brain organoids in neurodevelopment and neurological diseases.

Sun N ，Meng X ，Liu Y ，Song D ，Jiang C ，Cai J ... -  《-》

Cerebral organoids in a dish: progress and prospects.

A three-dimensional culture of cortical tissues derived from pluripotent stem cells offers an opportunity to model human brain development and disorders. In a recent issue of Nature, Lancaster et al. describe a new method for generating cerebral organoids in a dish and use it to model microcephaly.

Bershteyn M ，Kriegstein AR 《-》