Media.Player

Formation of Neuromuscular Junction in a Defined System: In vitro Model System using Motoneurons

Technology Benefits

Controlled, highly reproducible system that is easy to manipulate Chemically defined serum-free medium that supports motoneurons and skeletal muscles derived from human stem cells Non-biological substrate is patternable and not degraded by cells Compatible with BioMEM (Microelectromechanical) devices such as multi-electrode arrays (MEA) and cantilever devices

Technology Application

Models for spinal cord injury and motoneuron-related diseases Basic neuromuscular junction research Tissue engineer neuromuscular junction systems Target generation for neuromuscular junction-related diseases Screening for drug development and toxicology studies

Detailed Technology Description

Spinal cord injury and motoneuron-related diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal muscular dystrophy are debilitating conditions that have no effective treatments. The ability to study these neurodegenerative conditions in a well-defined, controlled in vitro system is essential for developing and testing new treatments. Most of the currently available models are animal-based models which often have problems when translated to human systems. Therefore, a functional in vitro system composed of human cells is critical for drug discovery. UCF researchers have developed a human-cell based in vitro system that can be used to study spinal cord injury and motoneuron-related injuries. This system is a functional neuromuscular junction, the synapse between the motoneuron and muscle cells. A major advantage of UCFΓÇÖs system is that it is serum-free, eliminating the inherent variability associated with serum. This feature allows this to system to be highly reproducible and easy to manipulate.

Industry

Biomedical

Sub Category

Pathogen

*Abstract

This invention is a functional in vitro model system for the culture of human motoneurons and rat or human skeletal muscle with neuromuscular junction formation.

*Principal Investigator

Name: James Hickman, Ph.D., Professor: Chemistry, Biomolecular Science and Electrical Engineering

Department: NanoScience Technology Center

Country/Region

USA