Glial cell diversity and methamphetamine-induced neuroinflammation in human cerebral organoids

Methamphetamine (METH) is a potent stimulant that induces a euphoric state but also causes cognitive impairment, neurotoxicity and neurodevelopmental deficits. Yet, the molecular mechanisms by which METH causes neurodevelopmental defects have remained elusive. Here we utilized human cerebral organoids and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to study the effects of prenatal METH exposure on fetal brain development. Findings have been reported in Dang et al. 2021, Molecular Psychiatry. Overall design: We analyzed 20,758 cells from eight untreated and six METH-treated cerebral organoids and found that the organoids developed from embryonic stem cells contained a diverse array of glial and neuronal cell types