Self-organizing human dual neural organoids model regional disease defects and teratogenicity.

Self-organizing human dual neural organoids (hPCOs) reveal Wnt signaling's bidirectional role in central and peripheral nervous system development, modeling key disease defects.

• Why it matters: Understanding human neurogenesis, especially the coordination between central and peripheral nervous systems, is limited by current in vitro models, hindering insights into developmental disorders and teratogenic effects.
• What they did: Researchers developed hPCOs, a self-organizing system that mimics the co-development of dorsal spinal cord and sensory ganglia, and used image analysis to assess teratogenic risks and disease mechanisms.
• The result: The model uncovered nociceptor defects linked to human pain insensitivity and demonstrated the platform's potential for studying neurodevelopmental diseases and drug safety evaluation.