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Review
. 2020 Apr 24;25(8):2000.
doi: 10.3390/molecules25082000.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC)-Based Neurodegenerative Disease Models for Phenotype Recapitulation and Drug Screening

Chia-Yu Chang  1   2   3 , Hsiao-Chien Ting  1 , Ching-Ann Liu  1   2   3 , Hong-Lin Su  1   4 , Tzyy-Wen Chiou  1   5 , Shinn-Zong Lin  1   6 , Horng-Jyh Harn  1   7 , Tsung-Jung Ho  8   9   10
Affiliations
Review

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC)-Based Neurodegenerative Disease Models for Phenotype Recapitulation and Drug Screening

Chia-Yu Chang et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Neurodegenerative diseases represent a significant unmet medical need in our aging society. There are no effective treatments for most of these diseases, and we know comparatively little regarding pathogenic mechanisms. Among the challenges faced by those involved in developing therapeutic drugs for neurodegenerative diseases, the syndromes are often complex, and small animal models do not fully recapitulate the unique features of the human nervous system. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are a novel technology that ideally would permit us to generate neuronal cells from individual patients, thereby eliminating the problem of species-specificity inherent when using animal models. Specific phenotypes of iPSC-derived cells may permit researchers to identify sub-types and to distinguish among unique clusters and groups. Recently, iPSCs were used for drug screening and testing for neurologic disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinocerebellar atrophy (SCA), and Zika virus infection. However, there remain many challenges still ahead, including how one might effectively recapitulate sporadic disease phenotypes and the selection of ideal phenotypes and for large-scale drug screening. Fortunately, quite a few novel strategies have been developed that might be combined with an iPSC-based model to solve these challenges, including organoid technology, single-cell RNA sequencing, genome editing, and deep learning artificial intelligence. Here, we will review current applications and potential future directions for iPSC-based neurodegenerative disease models for critical drug screening.

Keywords: drug screening; iPSC; neurodegenerative diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Apply induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)-derived neurons/glia for neurological disease phenotype confirmation, mechanism study, and drug test.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Combine novel technologies and iPSCs for disease model improvement, genetic studies, make complex neuronal organoids, and large-scale drug screening. scRNA: single cell RNA, SNP: single nucleotide polymorphism, BBB: blood–brain barrier, NMJ: neuromuscular junction.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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