AUTHOR=Hedegaard Anne , Stodolak Szymon , James William S. , Cowley Sally A. 

TITLE=Honing the Double-Edged Sword: Improving Human iPSC-Microglia Models

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.614972

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2020.614972

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>Human induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (hiPSC) models are a valuable new tool for research into neurodegenerative diseases. Neuroinflammation is now recognized as a key process in neurodegenerative disease and aging, and microglia are central players in this. A plethora of hiPSC-derived microglial models have been published recently to explore neuroinflammation, ranging from monoculture through to xenotransplantation. However, combining physiological relevance, reproducibility, and scalability into one model is still a challenge. We examine key features of the <italic>in vitro</italic> microglial environment, especially media composition, extracellular matrix, and co-culture, to identify areas for improvement in current hiPSC-microglia models.</p>