Canine induced pluripotent stem cell (ciPSCs) derivate in neural progenitor cells (NPCs) as a study model for neurodegenerative diseases

• Grant number: 23/14609-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Fabiana Fernandes Bressan
• Grantee: Elizabeth Bartok de Almeida
• Supervisor: Kristine Freude
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Copenhagen, Denmark
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/01893-0 - Pluripotency induction of urine derived cells of healthy and diagnosed dogs with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction as a study model for neurodegenerative diseases, BP.IC

Abstract

The canine species represents an attractive experimental clinical model for humanbehavioral, muscular, and neurological diseases. Compared to murine models, it has severaladvantages, especially the genomic similarity, and exposure to variable environmentalfactors, hence developing similar diseases naturally, such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) andCanine Cognitive Dysfunction (CCD). Thus, the species has been applied in translational andregenerative medicine in developing biomedical models, especially for diseases that still lackunderstanding of their biological mechanisms and effective therapeutics and prevention.However, due to ethical issues, there are limitations in using dogs from owners, making thisstudy difficult. In this context, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be of great value ininducing adult somatic cells to an embryonic-like state capable of differentiating into thethree germ layers, including nervous system cells that have difficult access to executeresearch. Based on this, the differentiation of canine fetal fibroblast iPSCs into neuralprecursor cells is proposed in an attempt to deepen existing knowledge on induction and earlyneuronal development, which will assist in the production of a canine study model underdevelopment in Brazil for neurological diseases, especially AD and CCD.