Electrical Stimulation Helps Organoids Mature
Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center have shown that electrical pulse stimulation can push human neuromuscular organoids toward a more mature state, offering a non-invasive path toward using organoids to study diseases that only appear in adulthood.
Organoids capture the three-dimensional structure of human tissue far better than flat cell cultures, making them valuable tools for studying disease. But they typically stop short of full maturity in the lab, which limits their usefulness for modeling adult-onset conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and muscular dystrophies. Dr. Mina Gouti's Stem Cell Modeling of Development and Disease lab, with first author Dr. Chrysanthi-Maria Moysidou, set out to close that gap using electrical pulse stimulation (EPS), a technique that is neither invasive nor destructive to the tissue. The results of the study were recently published in the journal Advanced Science.
Timing and duration of stimulation determine maturation
The team found that low-frequency EPS only drove organoids toward maturity when applied during a specific developmental window tied to neuromuscular formation. Organoids that received this stimulation developed more mature neural networks, larger muscle fibers, and stronger muscle contractions, all of which are markers of more mature tissue.
Duration of treatment also mattered: longer stimulation periods produced more complete maturation than brief ones, and the gains held even after the stimulation stopped, pointing to a lasting developmental effect rather than a temporary boost.
A proof of principle with broader ambitions
The current work served as a proof of principle, built from organoids representing two genetic backgrounds. Gouti, senior author of the study, sees the approach extending well beyond this one organoid system, potentially supporting the maturation of a range of organoid models used to study human physiology and disease.
The team's next steps involve testing the method across a wider range of genetic and tissue diversity, alongside developing more user-friendly, high-throughput EPS platforms. Gouti added that realizing the full potential of organoid technology will likely depend on combining developmental biology, bioengineering, quantitative imaging, and AI.
The work was supported by the European Research Council and the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship programme.
Source: Max Delbrück Center Press
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Mina Gouti
Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC)
Stem Cell Modeling of Development and Disease Lab
Robert-Rössle-Straße 10 13125 Berlin