All-Inclusive 3D Human Cortical Spheroid Formation Kit

Damage to the central nervous system (CNS) has a life-threatening impact on humans, and there is a high demand for relevant models to study CNS diseases and therapeutic strategies. Mature neurons and astrocytes in the brain together form a complex three-dimensional network system [1]. Astrocytes in vivo regulate blood flow, provide energy to neurons, and supply the building blocks of neurotransmitters, which support the formation of functional synapses [2]. The complex cellular arrangement of the 3D central nervous system are unlikely to be recapitulated in the 2D cultures in which cells display the planar morphology and have the cellular interactions only in the lateral direction. To create a more biologically relevant in vitro brain model, ScienCell has developed the 3D human cortical spheroid model which contains human primary neurons, and astrocytes. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that the 3D human cortical spheroids maintain direct cell-cell interactions between neurons and astrocytes and form functional synapses throughout the spheroids (Figures 1 and 2). Importantly, in the defined, serum-free spheroid medium, the neurons are networked with quiescent astrocytes, a phenotype closely resembling in vivo astrocytes. The quiescent astrocytes are critical for synapse function and neural development. Therefore, ScienCell’s 3D human cortical spheroids provide a simple and highly functional 3D brain model for the study of CNS functions, diseases, and therapeutics.