Scientists developed small thinking mini brains of skin cells

Brains made of skin cells could revolutionize medicine
Technology and medicine are making more and more progress today. Now researchers have even succeeded in producing tiny "mini-brains". In the future, diseases such as Alzheimer's and autism could be investigated. That would allow humanity completely new diagnostic and treatment methods.

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Medicine have created tiny "mini brains". For this the researchers need only a small skin donation. The resulting "mini-brains" could help to explore Alzheimer's and autism. In addition, these brains may be an alternative to animal testing in the near future. The experts presented their latest findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Scientists from the skin sample have developed stem cells in the laboratory and used them to create an artificial mini-brain. (Image: psdesign1 / fotolia.com)

"Mini brains" help to treat many diseases and disorders better
Ten years ago, researchers in Japan succeeded in producing stem cells from small skin donations. Now scientists from the "Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Medicine" have generated small brains from these stem cells. It was possible for the experts to model the first two to three months of brain development, said lead author Professor Thomas Hartung. These manufactured cell spheres are very versatile. They can help to study the effects of drugs or chemicals. This promises better treatments for diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's or Multiple Sclerosis. In addition, it is also possible to investigate brain development disorders that lead to autism, say the researchers. Through the stem cells, the scientists can make "mini-brains" of each person. These copy some of the human brain structures and their functionality.

The future of brain research is in cell-based models of human brains
The produced cell balls grow and shape brain-like structures within eight weeks. Research on these "mini-brains" should be superior to normal studies in mice and rats because they are derived from human cells, say the scientists. One of the disadvantages of promising drugs that have been tested on animal models is that they often fail when tested on humans. This leads to a great loss of time and money, explains Prof. Hartung. We can expect much better information from experiments with these cell spheres, the expert continues. The future of brain research is in such cell-based models of human brains, not in further experiments with laboratory animals, adds the physician.

The "mini brains" are produced from so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). These are adult cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to a similar state as embryonic stem cells. Then the cells are stimulated to grow into brain cells, the researchers explain. And the "mini brains" actually think. They fire electrical impulses and communicate through their normal networks, axons and neurites. The brains are the size of the eye of a fly. Most of the different brain cell types are present, not just different types of neurons, say the scientists.

Models with ten mini-organs are already in development
To fully exploit this technology, we need to make it easily accessible. Nobody should have a pretext to continue to use the old animal models, says Prof. Hartung. The future is customized brains for drug discovery. This would allow effects such as drugs, medicines or certain flavors in e-cigarettes to be tested on our brains, explains the research team. The ultimate vision is a combination of different mini-organs to study the interactions of the human body, say the physicians. Models with up to ten organs are already in development and would soon come onto the market. (As)