Human brain organoids combined with CRISPR technology to gain insight into neurological diseases

Abstract

As the most complex organ of human beings, the brain's functions cover various high-level intellectual activities such as cognition, language and thinking. These functions are closely related to the developmental processes in the cerebral cortex granted the composition structure of the nervous system in the cortex. Therefore, scientists have long been exploring the developmental processes of the cerebral cortex and the constituent structures of the nervous system, the purpose of the system is to deepen comprehend how the brain works. The study of neurological diseases by improving three-dimensional brain models is a hot issue at present, because the brain is very complex and fragile, and many therapies are weak and still theoretical. Brain organoids are a kind of three-dimensional tissue culture derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), which can simulate the type composition, spatial structure, physiological function and other characteristics of human brain cells by culture in vitro. The use of brain organoid technology can simulate the development process of the brain in vitro, providing an unprecedented opportunity to study the occurrence of brain function and nervous system diseases, and combining CRISPR technology for screening, so that it can be further applied efficiently. This research will summarize the development process, progress and deficiency of brain organoids and the research situation of neurological diseases, and make a summary of the current development and prospect of the future development.