Neurodegenerative disorders (NDDs) are a major challenge faced by public health, considering their increasing occurrence by the aging of the populations, unclear pathogenesis, and lack of effective causal treatment. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative-related dementia, responsible for 50-70% of all cases of dementia worldwide (1, 2). Ongoing research is focused on safe and efficient causative treatment, emphasizing the earliest stages of the disease.

The major goal of this research is to look at the effect of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) on the neuron-damaging effects of beta-amyloid (Aβ). Differentiation of SHED, a neural crest-derived mesenchymal stem cell line, into fully functional neurons underlies its potential as a suitable therapeutic method for NDDs.

The task will be fulfilled using a neuronal model (2D cultures and cortical organoids) derived from AD patients of various stages, based on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) reprogramming.

References:

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2. Sharma K, Pradhan S, Duffy LK, Yeasmin S, Bhattarai N, Schulte MK. Role of receptors in relationto plaques and tangles in Alzheimer’s disease pathology. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021;22(23):12987.
3. Marton RM, Pașca SP. Organoid and Assembloid Technologies for Investigating Cellular Crosstalk in Human Brain Development and Disease. Trends Cell Biol. 2020 Feb;30(2):133-143.