In vitro engineered models of neurodegenerative diseases
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2024
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Abstract
Neurodegeneration is a catastrophic process that develops progressive damage leading to functional and structural loss of the cells of the nervous system and is among the biggest unavoidable problems of our age. Animal models do not reflect the pathophysiology observed in humans due to distinct differences between the neural pathways, gene expression patterns, neuronal plasticity, and other disease-related mechanisms in animals and humans. Classical in vitro cell culture models are also not sufficient for pre-clinical drug testing in reflecting the complex pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. Today, modern, engineered techniques are applied to develop multicellular, intricate in vitro models and to create the closest microenvironment simulating biological, biochemical, and mechanical characteristics of the in vivo degenerating tissue. In THIS review, the capabilities and shortcomings of scaffold-based and scaffold-free techniques, organoids, and microfluidic models that best reflect neurodegeneration in vitro in the biomimetic framework are discussed. © 2024 Tech Science Press. All rights reserved.