Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.
In 1998, UW–Madison developmental biologist James Thomson introduced the world to the first laboratory-derived human embryonic stem cells. Twenty years later, UW–Madison remains at the forefront of stem cell research. The Waisman Center at UW-Madison is a hub of stem cell research, especially in the fields of human development, developmental disabilities and neurodegerative disorders. You …
Human induced-pluripotent stem cells are a promising resource for propagation of myogenic progenitors. Our group recently reported a unique protocol for the derivation of myogenic progenitors directly (without genetic modification) from human pluripotent cells using free-floating spherical culture.
Generation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Unaffected Neonatal Skin Cells - We have generated and characterized iPSC clones from three unaffected, neonatal individuals using non-integrating episomal reprogramming plasmids expressing OCT4, SOX2, LIN28, KLF4, and c-Myc.
Human pluripotent stem cell-derived neural organoids provide unprecedented potential to recapitulate human brain and spinal cord tissues in vitro. However, organoid morphogenesis relies upon cell-intrinsic self-assembly of biomimetic tissue structures in the absence of normal developmental constraints and morphogen signaling centers.
A decade after scientists announced the development of induced pluripotent stem cells, Waisman investigators, including Su-Chun Zhang and David Gamm, continue to use these cells to research and develop potential therapies for several disorders and conditions, such as ALS, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, and macular degeneration.
Integrative Single-Cell Transcriptomics Reveal Molecular Networks Defining Neuronal Maturation during Postnatal Neurogenesis Legend: Left: An illustration of coronal section of Nissl-stained adult mouse brain; Confocal images showing that most of DsRed+ (red) cells in DCX-dsRed mouse brains express immature neuron marker doublecortin (DCX, green). Middle: A schematic of the experimental design for single-cell transcriptome analysis. Right: Enrichment …
Stem cells are remarkable cells that have the ability to become almost any kind of specialized cells in our bodies. Given this extraordinary potential, how does a stem cell keep from having an identity crisis? A recent study from Waisman Center researcher Xinyu Zhao’s lab shows how a gene called MBD1 plays an important role …
Leaders of the University of Wisconsin–Madison lab that first transformed human stem cells into brain cells have started a company that produces and sells specialized neurons to drug researchers. BrainXell develops neurons from stem cells in its Madison lab, then freezes them for shipment. Once thawed in the customer’s lab, the cells undergo a final …
Waisman Center researchers Anita Bhattacharyya and Xinyu Zhao are looking to make stem cells glow. That glow will tell them that they have successfully turned on a gene that is usually turned off in individuals with fragile X syndrome. Turning on this gene – called FMR1 – could be an important way to treat this …
Title: MDM2 inhibition rescues neurogenic and cognitive deficits in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome Legend: Left: Models for FMRP regulation of the MDM2 and P53 pathway, which impacts adult neurogenesis and cognition. Right upper: Schematic of novel location test for assessing spatial learning. Right lower panel Nutlin-3 treatment fully rescued spatial memory deficits in Fmr1 …
