Lab-Grown Brains Developed Eye Structures By Themselves
Small, lab-grown brains from stem cells naturally generated eye structures, according to an interesting research from 2021. Identical to the development of human eye structures in embryos, two bilaterally symmetrical optic cups were seen on human-derived brain organoids growing in pans. Incredibly, this finding may provide light on how the eye develops and on a variety of eye illnesses.
Jay Gopalakrishnan, a neuroscientist, thinks the discovery shows how impressive brain organoids are since they can produce light-sensitive, rudimentary sensory structures that include cell types prevalent in the body. These organoids may imitate congenital retinal abnormalities, be used to test drugs on human subjects, and even be used to create a patient’s own retinal cell type for use in drug testing or transplantation therapy.
You should not conceive of brain organoids as real brains since they are not. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are human adult cells that have been converted into stem cells by a reversal of the normal differentiation process, and they may differentiate into many different kinds of tissue.
Here, these stem cells are manipulated to develop into brain tissue resembling blobs, devoid of any capacity for cognition, emotion, or self-awareness. Researchers utilize these “mini brains” to test drugs or study cell growth in settings where utilizing a real, live brain would be unethical, to name just two examples. Gopalakrishnan and his team set out to study ocular maturation this time around.
Optic cups, structures that during embryonic development form almost the whole globe of the eye, have previously been grown by other researchers using embryonic stem cells. The use of induced pluripotent stem cells to create an optical cup-like structure was also explored elsewhere.
Instead of trying to develop these structures individually, Gopalakrishnan’s group investigated whether or not they might be produced as an integral component of brain organoids. An additional advantage of this approach over conventional methods of developing optical structures separately is the opportunity to see how the two kinds of tissue interact throughout development. You shouldn’t conceive of brain organoids as “real” brains since they’re not. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are tiny, three-dimensional structures produced from adult human cells that have been reverse-engineered into stem cells.
Here, these stem cells are manipulated to develop into brain tissue resembling blobs, devoid of any capacity for cognition, emotion, or self-awareness. Researchers utilize these “mini brains” to test drugs or study cell growth in settings where utilizing a real, live brain would be unethical, to name just two examples. Gopalakrishnan and his team set out to study ocular maturation this time around.
Optic cups, structures that during embryonic development form almost the whole globe of the eye, have previously been grown by other researchers using embryonic stem cells. The use of induced pluripotent stem cells to create an optical cup-like structure was also explored elsewhere.
Instead of trying to develop these structures individually, Gopalakrishnan’s group investigated whether or not they might be produced as an integral component of brain organoids. An additional advantage of this approach over conventional methods of developing optical structures separately is the opportunity to see how the two kinds of tissue interact throughout development.
Though previous organoid growth study had found retinal cells, they failed to form optic structures, so the scientists adjusted their methods. They added retinol acetate to the growth medium to help with eye formation, but they didn’t try to compel the development of just neural cells in the early phases of neural differentiation.
Optic cups developed in their well-cared-for infant brains as early as 30 days of age, and the structures could be seen clearly by the age of 50. This agrees with the timing of eye development in the human embryo, suggesting that these organoids may be valuable for investigating the finer points of eye development.
There are further ramifications as well. The optic cups housed lens and corneal tissue in addition to several kinds of retinal cells that organized into neural networks in response to illumination. Last but not least, the structures showed retinal connection to brain tissue locations.
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