Cedars-Sinai researchers have developed a groundbreaking “ALS on a chip” model that mimics the complex environment of the human spinal cord, offering new insights into the causes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). By using stem cells derived from ALS patients, scientists engineered a microfluidic chip that recreates the interaction between motor neurons and the blood-brain barrier. This dynamic system allows for fluid flow, better simulating the body’s natural conditions compared to traditional static lab cultures.
The study revealed that ALS motor neurons exhibited altered glutamate signaling—an excitatory neurotransmitter pathway long suspected to play a role in the disease’s progression. These differences were not detectable in earlier static models, highlighting the importance of the chip’s lifelike environment. The organ-chip also enabled researchers to analyze over 10,000 genes and identify distinct molecular signatures in ALS-affected neurons, potentially pointing to new therapeutic targets.
This innovation not only deepens our understanding of sporadic ALS, which lacks a clear genetic cause, but also opens the door to personalized drug testing using patient-derived cells. The research, published in Cell Stem Cell, marks a significant step toward unraveling ALS’s elusive mechanisms and accelerating the development of effective treatments.
Article from Cedars-Sinai: Organ-Chips May Help Unlock the Mystery of ALS
Paper from Cell Stem Cell: An organ-chip model of sporadic ALS using iPSC-derived spinal cord motor neurons and an integrated blood-brain-like barrier
