A versatile toolbox of human iPSC-derived microglia for disease modelling and multicellular in vitro models for neurodegeneration drug discovery

opti-ox-mediated deterministically programmed iPSC-derived microglia from diverse genetic backgrounds serve as a versatile platform for disease modelling and advanced co-culture systems.

• Wild-type microglia display key characteristics and functionalities as early as 4 days post-revival, enabling the study of complex neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.
• A panel of disease model cells carrying Alzheimer’s disease-relevant mutations including APOEC112R/C112R and TREM2R47H/WT are relevant for drug discovery research.
• Wild-type microglia from male and female backgrounds consistently outperform the immortalised microglia-like HMC3 line, showing increased phagocytic capacity, upregulation of key microglia genes, and up to 1000-fold higher secretion of key cytokines following stimulation. ioMicroglia form functional co-cultures with ioGlutamatergic Neurons, supported by a fully optimised protocol developed at bit.bio.
• GFP ioMicroglia enable easy tracking of cell motility and morphology, live-cell imaging during complex co-cultures and antibody-free cell sorting.