A Multi-Electrode Array Platform for Modeling Epilepsy Using Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Brain Assembloids

Summary

This protocol aims to stably plate dorsal-ventral fused assembloids on multi-electrode arrays for modeling epilepsy in vitro.

Abstract

Human brain organoids are three-dimensional (3D) structures derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) that recapitulate aspects of fetal brain development. The fusion of dorsal with ventral regionally specified brain organoids in vitro generates assembloids, which have functionally integrated microcircuits with excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Due to their structural complexity and diverse population of neurons, assembloids have become a useful in vitro tool for studying aberrant network activity. Multi-electrode array (MEA) recordings serve as a method for capturing electrical field potentials, spikes, and longitudinal network dynamics from a population of neurons without compromising cell membrane integrity. However, adhering assembloids onto the electrodes for long-term recordings can be challenging due to their large size and limited contact surface area with the electrodes. Here, we demonstrate a method to plate assembloids onto MEA plates for recording electrophysiological activity over a 2-month span. Although the current protocol utilizes human cortical organoids, it can be broadly adapted to organoids differentiated to model other brain regions. This protocol establishes a robust, longitudinal, electrophysiological assay for studying the development of a neuronal network, and this platform has the potential to be used in drug screening for therapeutic development in epilepsy.

Introduction

Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived brain organoids are spatially self-organized 3D structures mirroring the tissue architecture and developmental trajectories in vivo. They are composed of multiple cell types, including progenitors (neuroepithelial cells, radial glia, neuronal progenitors, glial progenitors), neurons (cortical-like excitatory neurons and inhibitory interneurons), and glial cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes)^1,2. Assembloids represent the next generation of brain organoids, capable of integrating multiple brain regions and/or cell lineages within a 3D culture. They provide ....

Protocol

All experimental procedures demonstrated below were conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the University of Michigan Medical School Institutional Review Board and the Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee. The iPSC lines used in this protocol and the representative experiments were derived from human foreskin fibroblasts obtained from a commercial source. The details of the cell lines, reagents, and equipment used in this study are listed in the Table of Materials.

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Discussion

MEA-based methods for electrophysiological recordings of network activity in iPSC-derived assembloids have been used for in vitro modeling of epilepsy^22,23. This proposed platform integrating excitatory and inhibitory synaptic connections has the potential to address mechanisms of neuronal hyperexcitability and the role of cortical interneurons in the process of epileptogenesis. Additionally, this platform allows for the stabilization of assembloids and .......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
10 cm Corning Non TC-treated culture dishes	Corning	08-772-32	For suspension culture on the shaker
100 mL Beaker	Fisher Scientific	FB100100
100% Ethanol	Fisher Scientific	BP28184-4L
2-Mercaptoethanol (β-ME)	Thermo Fisher	21985023	Working concentration 100 μM
48-well cell culture plate	Fisher Scientific	50-202-140
6-well cell culture plate	Fisher Scientific	07-200-83
Aggrewell 800	Fisher Scientific	501974754
Allegra X-14R Refrigerated Centrifuge	Beckman Coulter	BE-AX14R
Allopregnanolone	Cayman	16930	Suspended 5mg into DMSO to get 1 mM stock solution. Aliquot and freeze at −80 °C. Dilute at 1:10,000 for use. Working concentration 100 nM.
Automated cell counter	Thermo Fisher	AMQAX2000
Axion CytoView MEA 6-well plates	Axion Biosystems	M384-tMEA-6B
Axion Maestro MEA platform	Axion Biosystems	Maestro	With temp environmental control
B-27 supplement (regular, with Vitamin A)	Thermo Fisher	21985023
B-27 supplement (without Vitamin A)	Thermo Fisher	12587010
Basement membrane matrix- Geltrex	Thermo Fisher	A1569601
Bead bath	Fisher Scientific	10-876-001	Isotemp
Benchtop inverted microscope	Olympus	CKX53	Kept in laminar flow clean bench
Bicuculline	Sigma-Aldrich	14340	Working concentration 10 μM
Bleach	CLOROX	67619-26
Borate buffer 20x	Thermo Fisher	28341	Working concentration at 1x
BrainPhys media	StemCell Technologies	5790
Cell dissociation reagent (StemPro Accutase)	Thermo Fisher	A1110501
Celltron orbital shaker	HT-Infors	I69222
Detergent/enzyme (Terg-A-Zyme)	Sigma-Aldrich	Z273287	Working concentration 1% m/v
DMEM/F12 + HEPES/L-Glutamine	Thermo Fisher	113300
DMSO	Sigma-Aldrich	67685
Dorsomorphin	Sigma-Aldrich	P5499	Dissolve 5mg into DMSO to get 10 mM stock solution. Aliquot and freeze at −20 °C. Dilute at 1:2000 for use. (working concentration 5 μM)
D-PBS w/o calcium or magnesium	Thermo Fisher	14190144
Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic (GDNF)	Peprotech	450-10	Dissolve 100 μg in 1mL of PBS to 100 μg/mL. Aliquot and freeze at −20 °C. Dilute at 1:5000 for use. (working concentration 20 ng/mL).
GlutaMAX supplement	Thermo Fisher	35050061
Hemacytometer	Election Microscopy Sciences	63510-20
HEPES	Thermo Fisher	15630080
Heraguard ECO Clean Bench	Thermo Fisher	51029692
Humidity controlled cell culture incubator	Thermo Fisher	370	set to 37 °C, 5% CO2
IWP-2	Selleckchem	S7085	Aliquot and freeze at −80 °C. It will precipitate if thawed at room temp. Frozen aliquots should be placed directly into 37 °C before use.
Knockout serum replacement (KOSR)	Thermo Fisher	10828010
mTeSRplus (medium + supplements)	StemCell Technologies	100-0276	cGMP, stabilized feeder-free medium for human iPSC cells
N2 supplement	Thermo Fisher	17502048
Neurobasal A	Thermo Fisher	21103049
Non-essential amino acids (NEAA)	Thermo Fisher	11140050
NT3	Peprotech	450-03	Dissolve 100 μg in 1mL of PBS to 100 μg/mL. Aliquot and freeze at −20 °C. Dilute at 1:5000 for use. (working concentration 20 ng/mL).
NuFF Human neonatal foreskin fibroblasts	MTI-GlobalStem	GSC-3002
Parafilm	PARAFILM	P7793
Penicilin/Streptomycin	Thermo Fisher	15140122
Pipette (P10, P200, P1000)	Eppendorf	EP4926000034	Autoclaved cut P1000 tips for organoid collection
Poly (Ethyleneimine) (PEI)	Sigma-Aldrich	P3143	Dilute stock in sterile borate buffer. Working concentration 0.07%. See details in manuscript.
Recombinant human epidermal growth factor (EGF)	R&D Systems	236-EG-200	Suspended in PBS. Aliquot and freeze at -20 °C.
Recombinant Human fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-basic	Peprotech	100-18B	Suspended in PBS. Aliquot and freeze at -20 °C.
Recombinant human-brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)	Peprotech	450-02	Centrifuge briefly before reconstitution. Dissolve 100 μg in 1 mL of PBS to 100 μg/mL. Aliquot and freeze at −20 °C. Dilute at 1:5000 for use. (working concentration 20 ng/mL).
Retinoic acid (RA)	Sigma-Aldrich	R2625	Dissolve 100 mg into 3.3 mL of DMSO to get 100 mM stock solution. Aliquot the stock 100 μL/tube and freeze at −80 °C. Take 200 μL of 100 mM stock and dilute 10x (add 1.8 mL of DMSO) to make 10 mM stock. Aliquot 50 μL/tube and store at −80 °C. Dilute at 1:100,000 for use. (working concentration 100 nM).
ROCK inhibitor Y-27632	Tocris	1254	1:200 from 10 mM stock
SAG (smoothened agonist)	Selleckchem	S7779	Aliquot and freeze at −80 °C. Stock concentration 1mM. Use at 1:10,000 dilution (working concentration 100 nM).
SB-431542	Tocris	1614	Dissolve 5mg into 1.3 mL of DMSO to get 10 mM stock solution. Aliquot and freeze at −80 °C. Dilute at 1:1000 for use. (working concentration 10 μM)
Serological pipette filler	Fisher Scientific	14-387-166
Steriflip vacuum tube top filter	Sigma-Aldrich	SE1M179M6
Sterile cell culture hoods	Baker Company	SG-600
Trypan blue solution (0.4%)	Thermo Fisher	15250061
Trypsin-EDTA (0.25%)	Thermo Fisher	25200056
Zoom stereomicroscope	Olympus	SZ61/SZ51	Kept in laminar flow clean bench