Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)
High-content imaging using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) of human origin can be applied to examine neurotrophic, neuroprotective, or neurotoxic effects of pharmaceutical drug candidates or environmental contaminants.
iPSCs are very useful for neuronal toxicity studies as they exhibit the functionality and behavior of mature neurons, and are also available in large quantities. This biologically relevant cell type paired with high-content imaging and analysis makes neurotoxicity assays valuable for screening lead compounds and potentially reduces pre-clinical development costs and the need for animal experimentation.