Modelling neurodegeneration using a human isogenic system: A next generation approach to study Huntington’s disease

This poster showcases the initial insights into our new product, ioGlutamatergic Neurons HTT 50CAG/WT! 

The development of therapies to treat patients with neuronal indications is currently hampered by the use of animal models as less than 10% of findings derived from these preclinical models can be translated to humans. Patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offer the possibility to generate in vitro systems to model neurological diseases that can recapitulate relevant human disease phenotypes. However, conventional human iPSC (hiPSC) differentiation protocols are often lengthy, inconsistent, and difficult to scale.

More importantly, the lack of genetically matched controls for patient-derived models further complicates the investigation of disease-relevant phenotype and study of molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration. To overcome these problems, we developed a proprietary gene targeting strategy (opti-ox) that enables highly controlled expression of transcription factors to rapidly reprogram hiPSCs into pure somatic cell types in a scalable manner. Combined with CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genetic engineering enabled us to introduce specific mutations in these hiPSC-lines and create isogenic disease models that will improve screen specificity and accelerate drug development.

Download this poster to discover how bit.bio’s wild type ioGlutamatergic Neurons form the isogenic, genetically matched control to create ioGlutamatergic Neurons HTT 50CAG/WT, a powerful next generation model to study Huntington’s disease in research and drug discovery.