Human stem cells have created the first brain-like organ with myelin-generating function.

A U.S. team of researchers has developed a new method to create the first brain-like organ with myelin-generating function using human stem cells, according to a study published online in the journal Nature Methods on Wednesday.
this "mini-brain" can more accurately simulate the structure and function of the human brain, helping scientists to take a deeper look at brain development, study brain diseases and test new drugs.
so-called organ- is actually a three-dimensional cell culture system, which is highly similar to the body's source tissue or organ, with some key characteristics of the corresponding organ.
brain organ technology is an important branch of organ-like technology, which plays an important role in brain development research, disease modeling, drug research and development.
but has long been missing a key component in brain-like organs created by scientists - the small protrusion cells that produce myelin.
myelin is a substance that wraps nerve fibers and helps neurons signal, and when damaged, neurons cannot communicate effectively with each other.
scientists have long believed that in multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and other diseases associated with myelin damage, few protrusion cells play an important role, but due to the lack of brain-like organs containing the cell, they are difficult to study in depth, the specific situation is very little.
, a team of researchers from the University of Keys Western Reserve School of Medicine, the New York Stem Cell Foundation Institute and George Washington University found a specific combination of growth factors that for the first time produced brain-like organs containing few protrusion cells, providing a new method for pathology of myelin disease and drug testing.
studies have shown that myelin-enhanced drugs can promote the production of myelin myelin cells in organ-like organs, indicating that these organs can be used in the drug-efficacy testing of myelin recovery drugs.
, the team also used stem cells from patients with Pelitus-Metzbach disease, an inherited myelin-forming disease, to produce brain-like organs that could successfully simulate the characteristics of the disease, suggesting that newly developed brain-like organ technology could also be used for research on the disease.
new study has incorporated small-numbered glial cells into brain-like organs, filling a critical gap in the study of brain-like organ models.
next, the team plans to use it in the study of multiple sclerosis to test the effectiveness of drugs targeting protrusion cells in stimulating myelin formation.
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