Self-organizing in vitro neural tube organoids mimic embryonic development

The embryonic neural tube is the origin of the entire adult nervous system, and disturbances in its development cause life-threatening birth defects. However, the study of mammalian neural tube development is limited by the lack of physiologically relevant in vitro models. Here, we report a self-organizing 3D neural tube organoid model that exhibits an in vivo-like tissue architecture, cell type composition, and anterior-posterior (AP) patterning. We thus introduce a tractable and physiologically relevant in vitro model to reveal the key morphogenesis and tissue regionalization mechanisms during early neural development.