Breakthrough organoid technology finds microcephaly genes in the human brain
November 2020
Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Science (IMBA), Vienna, Austria
Loss-of-function (LOF) screens provide a powerful approach to identify regulators in biological processes. The study presents a method called CRISPR-LIneage tracing at Cellular resolution in Heterogenous Tissue (CRISPR-LICHT), enabling parallel LOF studies in human cerebral organoid tissue. The method was used to test 173 microcephaly candidate genes revealing 25 to be involved in known and uncharacterized microcephaly-associated pathways. This human tissue screening technology allows the identification of microcephaly genes and mechanisms involved in brain size control.
A human tissue screen identifies a regulator of ER secretion as a brain size determinant
Jürgen A. Knoblich
Added on: 11-06-2020
[1] https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/10/28/science.abb5390[2] https://www.bionity.com/de/news/1168472/bahnbrechende-organoid-technologie-findet-krankheits-gene-im-menschlichen-gehirn.html
