New microglia cell model aims to help advance Parkinson’s research
Ncyte Microglia may help screen therapies for neurodegenerative diseases
Ncardia has launched a human-derived microglia cell model, called Ncyte Microglia, that the company says may help advance research in Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions — and which may be a tool in the development of new therapies.
Microglia are resident immune cells in the brain that are important for immune surveillance, inflammation, and support of nerve cells. Their dysregulation, and resultant neuroinflammation, is recognized as playing a role in the development of progressive diseases such as Parkinson’s.
The company said its new microglia cell model may help in screening new therapies for such neurodegenerative diseases.
“The introduction of Ncyte Microglia is a significant step forward in providing human-relevant models for [central nervous system] research,” Jeroen de Groot, PhD, divisional CEO of Ncardia, said in a company press release.
According to Ncardia, microglia cells offer a reliable and accessible in vitro, or laboratory, model to study neuroinflammation-related mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases, and rapidly evaluate therapeutic compounds targeting inflammation.
Ncyte Microglia cell model can help study neuroinflammation mechanisms
Parkinson’s is caused by the dysfunction and loss of dopaminergic neurons, the nerve cells responsible for producing the chemical messenger dopamine, which plays a key role in various functions in the body. The impaired dopamine signaling in the brain that results ultimately leads to Parkinson’s symptoms.
What exactly drives neuron damage is not fully understood, but neuroinflammation resulting from the abnormal activation of microglia cells is thought to play a role.
The cells of Ncyte Microglia are produced from human-derived induced pluripotent stem cells, known as iPSCs, which are developed from either skin or blood cells from healthy donors or patients. These cells are reprogrammed into a stem cell-like state, which allows the development of almost any human cell type, and then differentiated into microglia using specific chemical or biological cues.
Through this process, cells are engineered to adopt characteristics of microglia, including expression of specific cell markers, and subsequently preserved in a frozen state. The cells are maintained in a microglia state, and upon thawing become fully functional.
By offering researchers reliable, scalable, and functionally relevant microglia, we aim to accelerate the discovery of novel therapies for devastating neurological diseases.
When grown in the lab, these cells acquire a ramified shape and gain functional characteristics of human microglia, including phagocytosis and the ability to release signaling molecules, such as cytokines, in response to inflammatory cues.  Phagocytosis refers to the cells’ capacity to ingest and eliminate microorganisms, foreign substances, and damaged cells.
“By offering researchers reliable, scalable, and functionally relevant microglia, we aim to accelerate the discovery of novel therapies for devastating neurological diseases,” de Groot said.
The company last year launched a panel of ready-to-use cell-based assays for large-scale screening and selection of treatment candidates for Parkinson’s. It’s based on iPSCs-derived dopaminergic neurons, alone or combined with Ncyte Astrocytes — human iPSC-derived astrocytes, star-shaped cells found in the central nervous system.
It included the analysis of neuronal activity and health, alpha-synuclein clumping, or aggregation — a hallmark of Parkinson’s — cytokine release, and phagocytosis.
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