Authors: Smulders PSH, Hoope WT, Morcillo CB, Hermanides J, Hollmann MW, Weber NC
British Journal of Anaesthesia, October 13, 2022
Scientists use Axion’s noninvasive, label-free Maestro Edge MEA platform to characterize iPSC-derived DRG neurons in vitro.
Peripheral regional anesthesia is a common type of pain management that numbs an area of the body while leaving the patient awake, but pharmacological research in this arena has been slowed by a lack of biologically relevant in vitro models. In this article, scientists generate an in vitro model using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived nociceptive dorsal root ganglion neurons and use Axion’s Maestro Edge multielectrode array (MEA) platform and other methods to characterize the cells and demonstrate the “almost complete blockade of electrical activity” in response to lidocaine application as proof of principle. Overall, the authors show that “human iPSC-derived DRG nociceptors morphologically, molecularly, and functionally resembled their in vivo counterparts,” and conclude that the method is a promising, flexible method for disease modeling and drug development in peripheral regional anesthesia research and may also be useful in precision medicine applications.
