ORGANAGE PROJECT. 

Brain aging dynamics in a novel human organoid model.

The main objective of ORGANAGE is to identify the regulatory dynamics of human brain aging and the mechanisms of age-related neurodegeneration using a novel “aging-brain organoid”. In ORGANAGE we will use two different approaches to investigate the role of circulating peripheral factors and the direct effect of CNS cells in brain aging by transplanting differentiated organoids into the mouse brain.

DAN.D&V PROJECT

The use of midbrain organoids to test the neurodevelopmental component of Parkinson

In this project funded by the Spanish MiCIU we want to study the developmental component of dopaminergic neurodegeneration. 
A neurodevelopmental hypothesis suggests that early defects in dopaminergic neurons increase their vulnerability in adulthood, worstened by the metabolic unbalance of  astrocytes. These defects may require a “second hit” (e.g., stress or environment) to trigger neurodegeneration in PD.
We propose the midbrain organoids from iPSCs as a model to study early PD mechanisms, supporting the idea that PD may stem partly from disrupted neurodevelopment.

IberoCTNNB1

Molecular basis and human biomodels of the CTNNB1 syndrome.

CTNNB1 syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder classified as a rare disease. The main clinical manifestations include language impairment, microcephaly, motor dysfunction, intellectual disability, behavioral problems, and autistic symptoms. The syndrome is associated with various mutations in the CTNNB1 gene, which encodes the β-catenin protein, a key effector in neurodevelopment. The aim of this project is to perform a structural and functional characterization of the β-catenin variants found in Spanish patients with CTNNB1 syndrome by generating different organoid models of the disease. (In collaboration with the CTNNB1 Spain Association and the IberoCTNNB1 Consortium).