Cited by 436Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanismsFetal and Pediatric Neurological DisordersDevelopmental Biology and Gene Regulation

Induction of Expansion and Folding in Human Cerebral Organoids

Open access
Li, Yun, Muffat, Julien, Omer, Attya, Bosch, Irene, Lancaster, Madeline A., Sur, Mriganka, Gehrke, Lee, Knoblich, Juergen A. +1 more·2017·Cell Stem Cell

Abstract

An expansion of the cerebral neocortex is thought to be the foundation for the unique intellectual abilities of humans. It has been suggested that an increase in the proliferative potential of neural progenitors (NPs) underlies the expansion of the cortex and its convoluted appearance. Here we show that increasing NP proliferation induces expansion and folding in an in vitro model of human corticogenesis. Deletion of PTEN stimulates proliferation and generates significantly larger and substantially folded cerebral organoids. This genetic modification allows sustained cell cycle re-entry, expansion of the progenitor population, and delayed neuronal differentiation, all key features of the developing human cortex. In contrast, Pten deletion in mouse organoids does not lead to folding. Finally, we utilized the expanded cerebral organoids to show that infection with Zika virus impairs cortical growth and folding. Our study provides new insights into the mechanisms regulating the structure and organization of the human cortex.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.stem.2016.11.017

Cites

49 of 49 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • PTEN deletion and enhancement of PI3K-AKT growth signalling caused expansion and surface folding of cerebral organoids.

    “A recent report described expansion and surface folding of cerebral organoids following phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) deletion and enhancement of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)–AKT growth signalling pathway51, suggesting that increased neural progenitor proliferation may be a major contributing factor to expansion and gyrification of the human brain.”
  • These genome-editing manipulations are easily applied to organoid systems.

    “These manipulations are easily applied to organoid systems51,66, fuelling a burgeoning interest in the application of this technology to understand the pathophysiology of a wide range of adult and developmental human brain diseases.”

Self-check

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

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Li, Y., Muffat, J., Omer, A., Bosch, I., Lancaster, M. A., Sur, M., Gehrke, L., Knoblich, J. A., & Jaenisch, R.
Affiliations
  • Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research (US)
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
  • Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (AT)
  • Harvard University (US)
Corresponding author
Jaenisch, Rudolf
Venue
Cell Stem Cell
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-03
Volume
20
Issue
3
Pages
385-396.e3
ISSN
  • 1875-9777 (ISSN-L)
  • 1934-5909
OpenAlex
W2565974502
Cited by
436
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 55 · 2023: 43 · 2022: 58 · 2021: 57 · 2020: 66 · 2019: 46 · 2018: 36 · 2017: 25
FWCI
18.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cell stem cell (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca - Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Simons Foundation (SFARI 204106, SFLIFE 286977)
  • International Rett Syndrome Foundation
  • Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
  • European Leukodystrophy Association
  • Jerome and Florence Brill
  • NIH (HD 045022, R01-MH104610, R01-NS088538, AI100190)
  • ELA Foundation
  • Emerald Foundation
  • Biogen
  • Simons Center for the Social Brain
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Fetal and Pediatric Neurological Disorders
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
Keywords
brain organoids, cortical folding, neocortex expansion, neural progenitor proliferation, PTEN deletion, cell cycle re-entry, Zika virus infection
MeSH terms
Zika Virus Infection, Zika Virus, Animals, Cell Differentiation, Cells, Cultured, Enzyme Activation, Humans, Neurons, Organoids, Gene Deletion, Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins, Cell Proliferation, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt, PTEN Phosphohydrolase, Mice, Cerebrum, Neural Stem Cells

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review