Scientists from Mayo Clinic and Centers for Disease Control’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network.
Pioneering Research With “Mini-Brains”
For the study, the scientists first created miniature 3D brain-like models, called organoids. The pea-sized clusters of cells began as skin cells from people with autism spectrum disorder. The skin cells were placed in a culture dish and “reprogrammed” back into a stem-cell-like state, called induced pluripotent stem cells. These so-called master cells can be coaxed to develop into any cell in the body, including brain cells.
Next, the scientists used a special technology called single-cell DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01399-0