3D co-culture of human dorsal and ventral spinal cord neurons to model the dorsoventral spinal cord axis

Bioengineered 3D tissues are gradually improving the capabilities of in vitro models, but the highly complex spatial organization of the human central nervous system (CNS) represents a particular challenge. Many 3D CNS models are limited to single cell types, while multicellular models generally lack control of cell organization, failing to recapitulate the regional specificity of cells in vivo.

Using the dorsoventral spinal cord axis as a representative system, we generated a modular 3D protein composite (silk-collagen) scaffold system for the co-culture of dorsal (sensory) and ventral (motor) spinal cord progenitors in spatially discrete regions. Imaging showed the differentiation and maturation of both cell populations in distinct compartments, while bulk RNA sequencing confirmed the presence of combined motor and sensory markers in dorsoventral co-cultures, suggesting the potential for enhanced biological function in vitro.