UC Santa Barbara

Alzheimers disease (AD) is a chronic neurological condition characterized by the severe loss of cholinergic neurons. Currently, the incomplete understanding of the loss of neurons has prevented curative treatments for familial AD (FAD). Therefore, modeling FAD in vitro is essential for studying cholinergic vulnerability. Moreover, to expedite the discovery of disease-modifying therapies that delay the onset and slow the progression of AD, we depend on trustworthy disease models. Although highly informative, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSCs)-derived cholinergic neurons (ChNs) are time-consuming, not cost-effective, and labor-intensive. Other sources for AD modeling are urgently needed. Wild-type and presenilin (PSEN)1 p.E280A fibroblast-derived iPSCs, menstrual blood-derived menstrual stromal cells (MenSCs), and umbilical cord-derived Wharton Jellys mesenchymal stromal cells (WJ-MSCs) were cultured in Cholinergic-N-Run and Fast-N-Spheres V2 medium to obtain WT and PSEN 1 E280A cholinergic-like neurons (ChLNs, 2D) and cerebroid spheroids (CSs, 3D), respectively, and to evaluate whether ChLNs/CSs can reproduce FAD pathology. We found that irrespective of tissue source, ChLNs/CSs successfully recapitulated the AD phenotype. PSEN 1 E280A ChLNs/CSs show accumulation of iAPPβ fragments, produce eAβ42, present TAU phosphorylation, display OS markers (e.g., oxDJ-1, p-JUN), show loss of ΔΨm, exhibit cell death markers (e.g., TP53, PUMA, CASP3), and demonstrate dysfunctional Ca2+ influx response to ACh stimuli. However, PSEN 1 E280A 2D and 3D cells derived from MenSCs and WJ-MSCs can reproduce FAD neuropathology more efficiently and faster (11 days) than ChLNs derived from mutant iPSCs (35 days). Mechanistically, MenSCs and WJ-MSCs are equivalent cell types to iPSCs for reproducing FAD in vitro.