ArticleBrain : a journal of neurology2026
PU.1 restores microglial dysfunction caused by C9ORF72 repeat expansions in neural organoids.
Article in Brain : a journal of neurology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Review
- Microglia in C9orf72-associated amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: More or less active?Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Neural Organoid Models as a Platform for Studying Disease Mechanisms in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.Journal of neurochemistry · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disease characterized by loss of upper and lower motor neurons and progressive muscle wasting. Accumulating evidence indicates a role for non-neuronal cells in ALS pathogenesis, but their exact role and mechanism-of-action remain incompletely understood. A hexanucleotide (GGGGCC) repeat expansion (HRE) in C9ORF72 is the most common genetic cause of ALS (C9-ALS) and a frequent cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Several lines of experimental evidence support a role for the immune system and microglia in C9-ALS/FTD, and depending on experimental settings and species used, both reduced and increased microglial activity have been reported. To further study microglia in C9-ALS/FTD in the context of a complex, 3D disease environment, we developed cerebral organoids that innately develop microglia derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) of C9-ALS/FTD patients and controls. Here, we show reduced cellular complexity and transcriptional changes in C9 neural organoid-derived microglia (C9-oMGs), involving phagocytic, lysosomal and immune response pathways. The release of inflammatory cues from C9-ALS/FTD organoids is decreased and LAMP1 expression in C9-oMGs is reduced. Functional analysis using live imaging reveals impaired phagocytosis by C9-oMGs and reduced engulfment of the post-synaptic protein PSD-95 by C9-oMGs in organoids. Finally, our transcriptomics analysis identifies a PU.1 (encoded by SPI1) regulon as the most strongly downregulated transcription factor network in C9-oMGs. Viral overexpression of PU.1 rescues phagocytosis and gene expression defects in C9-microglia. Overall, our data demonstrate reduced microglial functions in a complex cellular disease environment and identify PU.1 as a potential target for restoring microglia changes in C9-ALS/FTD.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.