Natural variation in gene expression and viral susceptibility revealed by neural progenitor cell villages

Authors: MF Wells, J Nemesh, S Ghosh, JM Mitchell, MR Salick, CJ Mello, D Meyer, O Pietilainen, F Piccioni, EJ Guss, K Raghunathan, M Tegtmeyer, D Hawes, A Neumann, KA Worringer, S Kommineni, K Chan, BK Peterson, JJ Raymond, SA McCarroll

Cell Stem Cell Vol. 30, 3, 2023

 

Scientists use Axion’s next-generation Maestro MEA to characterize neuronal function in real time. 

Genetic variation plays an important role in neurodevelopment and overall human health and disease, but the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, scientists present a “cell village” experimental platform and use Axion’s Maestro multielectrode array (MEA) platform and other methods to explore genetic, molecular, and phenotypic differences in neural progenitor cells from 44 human donors. Overall, the authors suggest that the approach “provides scalable ways to elucidate the effects of genes and genetic variation on cellular phenotypes,” and suggest the strategy may expand the understanding of neurodevelopmental diseases like autism spectrum disorder, human-viral interactions, and other biological processes.