Due to limitations of existing animal and cell models, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital were required to develop a better model of Alzheimer’s disease and recently generated a sophisticated, human-relevant in vitro model that is considered to be “a real game changer” by experts in the field. The Mass General researchers introduced genes with Alzheimer’s-associated mutations into human neural stem cells and allowed the cells to grow in a three-dimensional gel support matrix. In doing so, the researchers discovered that the three dimensional culture supported neuronal cell differentiation better than existing two dimensional cultures, and that the cells produced the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease —both plaques and tangles— representing a vast improvement over existing models.

NAVS had an opportunity to speak to Dr. Rudy Tanzi, Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, and one of the lead researchers of this study, who said, “We believe that our new 3D neural culture model for Alzheimer’s disease not only provides a much improved recapitulation of disease pathology but will go a long way toward alleviating the need for costly and time-consuming mouse studies. This will decrease expenses of both drug discovery and genetic assessments of novel Alzheimer’s genes by roughly ten-fold, while also increasing the pace of progress by ten-fold. We hope that other diseases might adapt similar models, further lessening reliance on mouse models.”

At NAVS, we continue to be inspired by the development of improved cell culture models and the impact these human-relevant tools may have on reducing the use of animals in research. What are your thoughts on “disease in a dish” models for brain disorders? Send your questions and comments to sciencecorner@navs.org. I look forward to hearing from you.

–Dr. Pam Osenkowski, Director of Science Programs