Brain Organoids: Construction, Analysis, and Application

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 1170

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Genetics, Yale Stem Cell Center, Wu Tsai Institute, Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
Interests: brain organoids; iPSCs; neurodevelopmental disorders
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent advances in stem cell biology and 3D culture systems have led to the development of brain organoids—miniaturized, self-organizing models that recapitulate key aspects of human brain development and function. These models offer unique opportunities to study complex neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases, especially those that are difficult to model using traditional in vitro or in vivo systems. Brain organoids have rapidly become indispensable tools in neuroscience, providing insights into early brain development, disease mechanisms, and responses to therapeutics. This Special Issue will highlight the growing importance of brain organoid research in biomedical science and translational medicine.

This Special Issue will showcase cutting-edge research and methodological advances in the generation, characterization, and application of brain organoids. It will bring together interdisciplinary work that aligns with the journal’s scope, covering regenerative medicine, disease modeling, and stem cell-based technologies. By focusing on both fundamental biology and translational potential, this Special Issue will serve as a platform for sharing the latest innovations and conceptual developments in the brain organoid field.

For this Special Issue, we welcome the submission of original research articles and reviews. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Protocols for generating whole-brain or region-specific organoids;
  • Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics in organoid analysis;
  • Modeling neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders using brain organoids;
  • Patient-derived iPSC-based disease models;
  • Electrophysiological and functional analyses of brain organoids;
  • Integration of organoids into bioengineering platforms (e.g., organ-on-chip, bioprinting);
  • Drug screening and personalized medicine applications.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Jonghun Kim
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • brain organoids
  • iPSCs
  • neurodevelopmental disorders
  • region-specific organoids
  • functional neuronal analysis

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 5177 KB  
Article
Establishing Area-Specific Brain Organoids Through Transcription Factor-Mediated Patterning
by Jonghun Kim, Yoon-Sun Jang, Minseong Lee, Na Young Choi, Yooju Jung, Junho Lim and Tae Hwan Kwak
Biology 2026, 15(6), 488; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology15060488 - 19 Mar 2026
Viewed by 698
Abstract
The human cerebral cortex is organized into distinct area-specific regions along the rostral–caudal axis, yet current human brain organoid models incompletely recapitulate this regional diversity. Here, we establish an area-specific brain organoid platform by leveraging transcription factors (TFs) identified through re-analysis of in [...] Read more.
The human cerebral cortex is organized into distinct area-specific regions along the rostral–caudal axis, yet current human brain organoid models incompletely recapitulate this regional diversity. Here, we establish an area-specific brain organoid platform by leveraging transcription factors (TFs) identified through re-analysis of in vivo human cortical transcriptomic datasets. Publicly available single-cell RNA sequencing datasets from human developing cortex were re-analyzed to identify differentially expressed genes associated with rostral and caudal cortical identities. From this analysis, we identified SP9 (rostral-enriched) and DMRTA2 (caudal-enriched) as candidate TFs governing regional specification. To model cortical area identity, these TFs were overexpressed in an inducible manner during human cerebral organoid (hCO) generation. Overexpression of SP9 resulted in hCOs exhibiting rostral cortical characteristics, whereas DMRTA2 overexpression promoted caudal cortical features. The resulting hCOs showed distinct regional identities, reflected by differential expression of area-specific markers. In addition, these regional identities were accompanied by distinct functional phenotypes, as calcium imaging revealed divergent patterns of spontaneous neural activity between rostral and caudal hCOs. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that overexpression of TFs enables the controlled generation of area-specific hCOs. This approach provides a scalable and reproducible platform for studying human cortical regionalization and offers a framework for investigating region-specific mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brain Organoids: Construction, Analysis, and Application)
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