This study integrates iPSC-derived microglia into human midbrain organoids to enhance microglial maturation and inflammatory signaling, revealing altered transcriptional signatures in dopaminergic neurons and astrocytes.

bioRxiv · Apr 7, 2026 · PreprintNeuroscience

Single Cell RNAseq to identify subpopulations of glial progenitors in iPSC-derived oligodendroglial lineage cultures

Gabriela J. Blaszczyk, Valerio E. C. Piscopo, Taylor Goldsmith, Alexandra Chapleau, Julien Sirois, Geneviève Bernard, Jack Perry Antel, Thomas M. Durcan

The paper uses single-cell RNA sequencing to identify subpopulations of glial progenitors in iPSC-derived oligodendroglial lineage cultures and characterizes their differentiation response.

npj Systems Biology and Applications · Apr 15, 2025Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

Mutations in SOD1 induce ALS-related phenotypes in 3D iPSC-derived motor neuron (MN) spheroids

María José Castellanos‐Montiel, Anna Kristina Franco-Flores, Michaël Nicouleau, Ghazal Haghi, Sarah Lépine, Belén Baeza, Carol X.‐Q. Chen, Taylor Goldsmith, Nathalia Aprahamian, Doris Hua, Mathilde Chaineau, Lale Gursu, Narges Abdian, Éric Deneault, Thomas M. Durcan

This study uses 3D iPSC-derived motor neuron spheroids with SOD1 mutations to show ALS-related phenotypes and genetic variability effects.

bioRxiv · Jan 28, 2025 · PreprintNeuroscience

The Parkinson's disease risk gene cathepsin B promotes fibrillar alpha-synuclein clearance, lysosomal function and glucocerebrosidase activity in dopaminergic neurons

Jace Jones-Tabah, Kathy He, Nathan C. Karpilovsky, Konstantin A. Senkevich, Ghislaine Deyab, Isabella Pietrantonio, Thomas Goiran, Yuting Cousineau, Daria Nikanorova, Taylor Goldsmith, Esther del Cid‐Pellitero, Carol X.‐Q. Chen, Wen Luo, Zhipeng You, Narges Abdian, , Edward A. Fon

This study investigates the role of cathepsin B in Parkinson's disease by analyzing genetic variants and manipulating catB function in cell models to assess its impact on lysosomal activity and alpha-synuclein clearance.

Molecular Neurodegeneration · Nov 24, 2024Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

An adapted stem cell-derived microglia protocol for the study of microgliopathies and other neurological disorders

Marie‐France Dorion, Diana Casas, Moein Yaqubi, Peter Fleming, Carol X.‐Q. Chen, Valerio E. C. Piscopo, Michaël Nicouleau, Taylor Goldsmith, Irina Shlaifer, Adam MacDonald, Roy Dudley, Jeffrey A. Hall, Jack Perry Antel, Jo Anne Stratton, Thomas M. Durcan, , Luke M. Healy

The paper optimizes an iMGL protocol to generate microglia-like cells from an ALSP patient, revealing functional defects in migration and phagocytosis.

bioRxiv · Sep 8, 2023 · PreprintNeuroscience

CelltypeR: A flow cytometry pipeline to annotate, characterize and isolate single cells from brain organoids

Rhalena A. Thomas, Julien Sirois, Shu‐Ming Li, Alexandre Gestin, Ghislaine Deyab, Valerio E. C. Piscopo, Paula Lépine, Meghna Mathur, Carol X.‐Q. Chen, Vincent Soubannier, Taylor Goldsmith, Lama M. Fawaz, Thomas M. Durcan, Edward A. Fon

The paper develops a flow cytometry pipeline called CelltypeR to annotate and characterize cell types in brain organoids, identifying dopamine neuron subtypes and tracking cell type dynamics over time.

bioRxiv · Nov 11, 2022 · PreprintNeuroscience