Transcriptomics analysis of human iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons reveals a novel model for sporadic Parkinson’s disease

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01663-y

Researcher from Maastricht University and KU Leuven developed a new model for sporadic Parkinson’s disease (PD). The researcher differentiated human induced pluripotent stem-cells (iPSCs) into dopaminergic neurons. Subsequently the cells were exposed to increasing concentrations of the neurotoxin MPP⁺. Temporal transcriptomics analysis revealed a strong time- and dose-dependent response with genes over-represented across pathways involved in PD etiology such as “Parkinson’s Disease” and “Dopaminergic signaling”. The iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons provide a foundation for a novel sporadic PD that can be used to study the molecular mechanisms of PD, thereby identify and develop new treatment strategies, but also to screen for novel anti-PD drugs.