Modeling brain and neural crest neoplasms with human pluripotent stem cells

Pluripotent stem cells offer unique avenues to study human-specific aspects of disease and are a highly versatile tool in cancer research. Oncogenic processes and developmental programs often share overlapping transcriptomic and epigenetic signatures, which can be reactivated in induced pluripotent stem cells. With the emergence of brain organoids, the ability to recapitulate brain development and structure has vastly improved, making in vitro models more realistic and hence more suitable for biomedical modeling. This review highlights recent research and current challenges in human pluripotent stem cell modeling of brain and neural crest neoplasms, and concludes with a call for more rigorous quality control and for the development of models for rare tumor subtypes.

Automated summary

Pluripotent stem cells are valuable tools in studying human-specific disease and cancer research, especially for brain and neural crest neoplasms. Their ability to reactivate shared transcriptomic and epigenetic signatures provides insights into oncogenic processes and developmental programs. Brain organoids have improved the realism of in vitro models, making them more suitable for biomedical modeling. This review emphasizes the need for rigorous quality control and the development of models for rare tumor subtypes.