Generation of self-organized autonomic ganglion organoids from fibroblasts

Neural organoids have been shown to serve as powerful tools for studying the mechanism of neural development and diseases as well as for screening drugs and developing cell-based therapeutics. Somatic cells have previously been reprogrammed into scattered autonomic ganglion (AG) neurons but not AG organoids. Here we have identified a combination of triple transcription factors (TFs) Ascl1, Phox2a/b, and Hand2 (APH) capable of efficiently reprogramming mouse fibroblasts into self-organized and networked induced AG (iAG) organoids, and characterized them by immunostaining, qRT-PCR, patch-clamping, and scRNA-seq approaches. The iAG neurons exhibit molecular properties, subtype diversity, and electrophysiological characteristics of autonomic neurons. Moreover, they can integrate into the superior cervical ganglia following transplantation and innervate and control the beating rate of co-cultured ventricular myocytes. Thus, iAG organoids may provide a valuable tool to study the pathogenesis of autonomic nervous system diseases and screen for drugs, as well as a source for cell-based therapies.