DATE: April 17, 2018
TIME: 8:00AM PST, 11:00AM EST

Recently, much research has focused on obtaining 3D brain organoids to better recapitulate brain development and function in vitro. However, current protocols lead to variable organoid size and function, making the use of these powerful tools impractical in drug screening scenarios.

Here, we describe StemoniX® microBrain® 3D Assay Ready Plates, highly homogenous human induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (hiPSC)-derived cortical spheroid screening platform in a 384-well format. Each well contains a single uniformly sized spheroid, with a fully developed foundation of cortical neurons and astrocytes co-matured from a single donor source. Immunofluorescence analysis indicates that the neurons and astrocytes display key markers of cellular identity and maturity, such as synaptic proteins and glutamate transporters.

microBrain cortical spheroids present highly synchronized, quantifiable, robust, and uniform spontaneous calcium oscillations, which can be measured in kinetic high throughput screening (HTS) plate readers, such as the FLIPR Tetra® High-Throughput Cellular Screening System, and, at the cellular level, with high content imaging systems, such as the ImageXpress® Micro Confocal High-Content Imaging System. The calcium signal can be reproducibly modified with excitatory and inhibitory neuromodulators, confirming the presence of a functionally integrated glutamatergic and GABAergic circuitry. For HTS applications, microBrain 3D Assay Ready generates remarkably consistent results, displaying minimal variability across wells and plate replicates. Additionally, these cortical organoids are amenable to immunostaining in suspension, enabling scalable high content image-based assays focused on key protein markers. Delivered to customers pre-plated under ambient conditions, this powerful product can be easily implemented as a reliable HTS platform for drug discovery, safety pharmacology and neurotoxicology, and disease modeling.

Learning Objectives:
•    Key characteristics of microBrain 3D Assay Ready spheroids
•    Applications of microBrain 3D Assay Ready for high throughput drug screening
•    microBrain 3D Assay Ready is delivered to the customer ready to use, integrating easily into their high throughput           screening platforms