Great apes have been banned for animal studies in Europe. Organoids are grown in the laboratory and are an alternative to animal experiments. These organoids can be made from stem cells, which can be differentiated into different cell types. The research team was able to produce brainoids from both humans and Chimpanzees. One of the lead authors of the study said that the brain organoids allowed them to investigate a question.
A previous study showed that ARHGAP11B can enlarge a primate's brain. It was not clear if ARHGAP11B had a major or minor role in the evolution of the human neocortical structure. The ARGHAP11B gene was first put into the brains of Chimpanzees. Is the proliferation of brain stem cells in the Chimpanzombie brain a result of the ARGHAP11B genes?
Michael Heide, head of the Junior Research Group Brain, said that the study shows that the genes in Chimpanzees cause an increase in relevant brain stem cells and an increase in those neurons that play a crucial role in the mental abilities of humans.
There was a decrease in the amount of brain stem cells when the ARGHAP11B gene was knocked out in humans. Michael Heide said that they were able to show that ARHGAP11B plays a crucial role in neocortex development.
Julia Ladewig says that it is possible that certain maldevelopments of the neocortex may be caused by the ARHGAP11B genes.
More information: Human-specific ARHGAP11B ensures human-like basal progenitor levels in hominid cerebral organoids, EMBO Reports (2022). DOI: 10.15252/embr.202254728 Journal information: EMBO Reports Citation: Brain organoids provide insights into the evolution of the human brain (2022, September 13) retrieved 13 September 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-09-brain-organoids-insights-evolution-human.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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