Human organoid screen links transient translational modulation to progenitor progression in corticogenesis

Emetine, a translation elongation inhibitor, is the top hit from a 1,280–small-molecule screen that modulates EOMES/TBR2 in human cortical organoids.

• Why it matters: Scalable, systematic perturbation methods are limited for identifying molecular regulators of transitions between cortical developmental states in human organoid models.
• What they did: The team built a semi-automated, high-throughput arrayed platform and screened 1,280 small molecules for modulators of EOMES, then tested Emetine across multiple human and primate organoid and tissue systems.
• The result: Transient Emetine exposure shifts cells from dividing radial glia toward cortical glutamatergic neurons, with nascent-proteome remodeling occurring before transcriptional changes, supporting translational regulation upstream of the transition.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.