Researchers have recreated living tissues of the blood vessels and the spinal motor neurons to reveal that capillaries in the human brain can activate genes known to trigger spinal motor neurons and prompting neuronal growth during early development. The study, which was published in StemCell Reports could offer insights into the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurodegenerative disorders.
To complete the investigation Cedars-Sinai scientists combined stem cell science and Organs-on-Chips technology. Samples of skin cells from adults were genetically reprogrammed to induce pluripotent stem cells and placed on Organ-Chips. Nurtured by special fluids, the cells of the two different tissues—spinal motor neurons and lining of the brain’s capillaries—thrived and interacted with each other.
This led them to discover that these blood vessels are doing more than just delivering nutrients and oxygen, they are also genetically communicating with the neurons. This begins happening when a human embryo is about four weeks old and the capillaries activate genes to grow new blood vessels that will go on to become the spinal cord.
In future studies, the team plans to use chip technology to compare the vessel-neuron interactions in ALS patients compared to those without ALS.
Image: Layers of spinal motor neuron cells (top, in blue) and capillary cells (bottom, in red) converge inside an Organ-Chip. Neurons and capillary cells interact together along the length of the chip. The image was produced using a confocal microscope; colors were generated by staining with fluorescent antibodies. Image courtesy of Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute.