The lack of appropriate in vitro models of the human nervous system hinders the understanding of pathological mechanisms and the development of drugs. This project, part of the IMI2 PAEAN project, aims at generating, through innovative methods based on guided generation of organoids and 3D bioprinting, new 3D models of the human nervous system composed by brain cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). iPSCs can be derived from any individual by reprogramming the body's cells, and then differentiated to any cell type of interest. We will produce 3D models of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, as well as and brain tumors. We will analyze these in vitro disease models to study disease mechanisms, and to evaluate whether these models can be used for drug tests and for the development of diagnostic tools. The ultimate goal of the project is that these 3D models characterized by being patient-specific, become reliable platforms for drug screening for personalized medicine. These human, patient-specific preclinical tools might also represent a frontier in the development of new drugs and for the prediction of new and old drug neurotoxicity, and will be provided to pharmacological industry and research organization as an integrated risk assessment approach for better decision-points throughout the R&D process, and better protection of human volunteers and patients, shortening drug development timelines, reducing drug development costs and animal testing.
