Poster Presentation Australian Society for Medical Research Annual Scientific Meeting 2016

Development of an in vitro human neuromuscular circuit (#107)

Timothy J Tracey 1 2 , S.T Ngo 1 3 4 , E.J Wolvetang 2 , P.G Noakes 1 3 4
  1. School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  2. Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  3. Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  4. University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Animal models have long been the favoured method for studying human development and disease. Recent studies, however, have suggested that due to fundamental differences in genetic, developmental and epigenetic cues, these animal models are unable to faithfully recapitulate the human systems they intend to model. In an effort to overcome this, researchers have turned towards human stem cells to more accurately model the human biological systems of interest. The neuromuscular junction is a prime target for such stem-cell based modelling, as the current animal models show distinct functional disparities, particularly in the essential process of synaptic signalling. In an attempt to develop a functional model of the human neuromuscular junction, motor neurons were derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells and characterised genetically, morphologically and functionally. Alongside this, human myosatellite cells were differentiated and characterised. These neurons and muscle were co-cultured, producing early signs of neuromuscular junction formation. As a result, significant progress has been made towards the development of a functional model of the human neuromuscular junction in vitro, paving the way for a bio-assay platform in which to study neuromuscular diseases and targeted therapeutic compounds.