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Comment
. 2023 May 8;21(5):e3002141.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002141. eCollection 2023 May.

Approaches to vascularizing human brain organoids

Bing Ye  1   2
Affiliations
Comment

Approaches to vascularizing human brain organoids

Bing Ye. PLoS Biol. .

Abstract

A major challenge in brain organoid technologies is the lack of vasculature. In recent years, innovative approaches have been taken to meet this challenge. A 2020 paper published in PLOS Biology exemplifies the approaches used in this booming field.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author has declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Technologies for vascularizing brain organoids.
(A) Transplanting human BOs into the brains of immunodeficient rodents leads to vascularization of the BOs by the host vasculature. BOs are generated from PSCs that are induced to become neural stem cells. (B) Adding vasculature-deriving ECs into developing BOs results in BOs with a vascular system. Neural cells originate from ectoderm, while vascular cells derive from mesoderm. Co-culturing HUVECs with stem cells leads to a vascular system in the BOs. After the HUVEC-BOs are transplanted into the mouse neocortex, the HUVEC-derived vessels integrated into the host vasculature. Adding induced PSC-derived ECs or stem cells expressing endothelial TFs also leads to vessel growth in BOs. (C) Co-culturing human BOs with human blood VO lead to vessel-like structures in the BOs. Graphics are created with BioRender.com. BO, brain organoid; EC, endothelial cell; HUVEC, human umbilical vein endothelial cell; PSC, pluripotent stem cell; TF, transcription factor; VO, vessel organoid.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

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