Cited by 593Pluripotent Stem Cells ResearchNeurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanismsNeuroscience and Neural Engineering

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 75 of the 75 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 44 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Generation of Functional Human 3D Cortico-Motor Assembloids

Open access

Abstract

SUMMARY Neurons in the cerebral cortex connect through descending pathways to hindbrain and spinal cord to activate muscle and generate movement. Although components of this pathway have been previously generated and studied in vitro, the assembly of this multi-synaptic circuit has not yet been achieved with human cells. Here, we derive organoids resembling the cerebral cortex or the hindbrain/spinal cord and assemble them with human skeletal muscle spheroids to generate 3D cortico-motor assembloids. Using rabies tracing, calcium imaging, and patch-clamp recordings, we show that corticofugal neurons project and connect with spinal spheroids, while spinal-derived motor neurons connect with muscle. Glutamate uncaging or optogenetic stimulation of cortical spheroids triggers robust contraction of 3D muscle, and assembloids are morphologically and functionally intact for up to 10 weeks post-fusion. Together, this system highlights the remarkable self-assembly capacity of 3D cultures to form functional circuits that could be used to understand development and disease.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

The paper generates three-dimensional human cortico-motor assembloids by fusing hiPS cell-derived cortical spheroids, hindbrain/cervical spinal cord spheroids, and skeletal muscle spheroids. It shows that cortical neurons connect to spinal spheroids, spinal motor neurons connect to muscle, and cortical stimulation can drive muscle contraction in vitro for up to 10 weeks.

Key findings

  • hSpS resembling hindbrain/cervical spinal cord were generated from hiPS cells; condition 8 (0.1 µM RA, 0.1 µM SAG, 10 ng/mL FGF-2) was selected, and DAPT exposure produced a ~3-fold increase in motor neurons and a 4-fold decrease in an undefined mixed neuronal population. Single-cell profiling included n = 7,888 cells (BD Rhapsody) and n = 9,302 cells across three hiPS cell lines (10x Genomics).
  • In hCS-hSpS assembloids, hCS-derived eYFP projections increased over time; rabies tracing showed ~95% of GFP+/mCherry+ hCS cells co-expressed MAP2, <4% GFAP, ~60% CTIP2, and ~12% BRN2. Optogenetic stimulation of hCS elicited calcium spikes in hSpS in 4/10 assembloids, with median response amplitude ~5 times higher than random time points (n = 16 cells, p = 0.0005), blocked by NBQX/APV; patch-clamp found reliable postsynaptic currents in 2/30 recorded Hb9+ cells across 4 assembloids.
  • In hSpS-hSkM assembloids, rabies tracing showed 90% of GFP+ cells were CHAT+, <5% GABA+, and ~45% ISL1+; glutamate uncaging caused muscle contraction that was blocked by curare. In hCS-hSpS-hSkM assembloids, spontaneous contractions were ~5× more frequent than hSkM alone or hCS-hSkM, and optogenetic hCS stimulation induced global contractions in 85.7% of tested assembloids and 40% of pulses, abolished by NBQX/APV.
  • Assembloids remained morphologically and functionally intact for up to 10 weeks; optogenetic contraction success was 50% at 8 weeks versus 81% at 5 weeks (p = 0.06), while calcium responses after 5 stimulations were more robust at 7–8 weeks (p = 0.003 for Stim 5).

Methods

  • Used n = 9 hiPS cell lines from 8 healthy subjects to generate human cortical spheroids (hCS), hindbrain/cervical spinal cord spheroids (hSpS), human skeletal myoblasts (hSkM), and hiPS cell-derived myoblasts (ihSkM); assembled hCS-hSpS, hSpS-hSkM, and hCS-hSpS-hSkM cultures, plus mouse E11.5 limb bud co-cultures.
  • Characterized cells and circuits with single-cell transcriptomics (BD Rhapsody and 10x Genomics), qPCR, immunocytochemistry, electron microscopy, rabies tracing, calcium imaging, patch-clamp electrophysiology, optogenetics, glutamate uncaging, and MUSCLEMOTION contraction analysis.
  • Statistical comparisons are reported throughout using p-values from the described assays; sample sizes and cell-line/differentiation details are in Table S1 and figure legends.

Limitations

  • The paper states that further improvements are needed: more caudal spinal cord cell types, organizing centers or other strategies to improve progenitor domain organization, assessment of ascending projections, and optimization of optogenetics with cell-type-specific reporters.
  • The text also notes that direct comparison to human developing hindbrain/spinal cord in the future could better address identity questions; rabies infection of 3D hSkM was challenging, yielding fewer GFP+ cells in some assembloids; and optogenetic success depends on light-pulse duration and opsin delivery efficiency.
  • Evident from the reported results: only 4/10 assembloids showed calcium responses in hCS-hSpS, only 2/30 recorded Hb9+ cells showed reliable postsynaptic currents, one hiPS cell line had a higher proportion of V2a neurons at the expense of motor neurons, and the hSpS single-cell analysis did not identify a clear V3 domain or non-ectodermal cells.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.cell.2020.11.017

Cites

75 of 75 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

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Show all 59 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 46
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 2
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 24
63 of 63
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Mouse limb buds dissected at embryonic day 11.5 have not yet received spinal cord axonal innervation.

    “we dissected mouse limb buds at embryonic day 11.5 (E11.5) before spinal cord axonal innervation”
1 of 1

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Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

  • Single-cell totals do not add up

    Major

    The two reported recovered-cell counts sum to 7,348, not 7,888. The stated total is also described as remaining after filtering, which cannot increase the count.

    Reported 7888 · recomputed 7348

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Metadata

Authors
Andersen, J., Revah, O., Miura, Y., Thom, N., Amin, N. D., Kelley, K. W., Singh, M., Chen, X., Thete, M. V., Walczak, E. M., Vogel, H., Fan, H. C., & Paşca, S. P.
Affiliations
  • Stanford Medicine (US)
  • BD Biosciences (United States) (US)
Venue
Cell
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-12
Volume
183
Issue
7
Pages
1913-1929.e26
ISSN
0092-8674 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3111725926
Cited by
593
References
75
Citations by year
2026: 96 · 2025: 127 · 2024: 123 · 2023: 80 · 2022: 88 · 2021: 79
FWCI
20.02
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cell (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • New York Stem Cell Foundation
  • Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
  • National Institutes of Health
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Pluripotent Stem Cells Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
Keywords
spinal cord organoids, hindbrain, corticofugal neurons, motor neurons, muscle contraction, glutamate uncaging, optogenetic stimulation, calcium imaging, patch-clamp recording
MeSH terms
Animals, Calcium, Cell Differentiation, Cells, Cultured, Cerebral Cortex, Cervical Vertebrae, Gene Expression Regulation, Glutamates, Humans, Motor Cortex, Muscles, Nerve Net, Organoids, Rhombencephalon, Spinal Cord, Spheroids, Cellular, Myoblasts, Mice, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Optogenetics

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