Large-scale differentiation of iPSC-derived motor neurons from ALS and control subjects

Using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to understand the mechanisms of neurological disease holds great promise; however, there is a lack of well-curated lines from a large array of participants. Answer ALS has generated over 1,000 iPSC lines from control and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients along with clinical and whole-genome sequencing data. The current report summarizes cell marker and gene expression in motor neuron cultures derived from 92 healthy control and 341 ALS participants using a 32-day differentiation protocol. This is the largest set of iPSCs to be differentiated into motor neurons, and characterization suggests that cell composition and sex are significant sources of variability that need to be carefully controlled for in future studies. These data are reported as a resource for the scientific community that will utilize Answer ALS data for disease modeling using a wider array of omics being made available for these samples.

Automated summary

Using iPSCs from a large number of participants, Answer ALS has generated over 1,000 iPSC lines along with clinical and genetic data. The current report summarizes the gene expression and cell marker in motor neuron cultures derived from 92 healthy individuals and 341 ALS patients. It is the largest set of iPSCs differentiated into motor neurons, and the results suggest that cell composition and sex need to be carefully controlled in future studies.