Authors: Kea Aline Schmoll, Thomas Mager, Timothy Pok-man Tse, Ahmed Alameldeen, Wolfram-Hubertus Zimmermann, and Maria-Patapia Zafeiriou
Stem Cell Research, 28 January 2024
Researchers use Axion’s Maestro MEA platform and Lumos optical stimulation system to characterize engineered neurons in vitro.
Optogenetic techniques carry great potential for disease research and the development of regenerative medicines. In this study, scientists use induced pluripotent stem cells to develop a neural-specific optogenetic line for the investigation of neural connectivity within organoids and co-culture models. To characterize the engineered neurons in vitro and validate the neural specificity of the optogenetic channel using cardiomyocytes, the authors used Axion’s Maestro noninvasive multielectrode array (MEA) platform and Lumos optical stimulation system. Overall, the team reports that the cell line “harbors a stably integrated, fast, red light-activatable channel (f-Chrimson), under the control of synapsin promotor in the AAVS1 locus” and that MEA analysis demonstrated that the neurons are light-activatable.
