# Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Drug Discovery and Neurodegenerative Disease Modelling

## TL;DR

This paper reviews how induced pluripotent stem cells are used to model neurodegenerative diseases and test drugs, offering a promising approach for drug discovery.

## Contribution

The paper provides a focused review on recent advances in iPSC-based modeling specifically for neurodegenerative diseases.

## Key findings

- iPSCs can be used to create patient-specific models for studying neurodegenerative diseases.
- iPSC-based models have confirmed the efficacy of testing multiple drugs for these diseases.
- iPSCs overcome challenges like limited access to brain tissue and ethical issues in disease research.

## Abstract

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are derived from reprogrammed adult somatic cells. These adult cells are manipulated in vitro to express genes and factors essential for acquiring and maintaining embryonic stem cell (ESC) properties. This technology is widely applied in many fields, and much attention has been given to developing iPSC-based disease models to validate drug discovery platforms and study the pathophysiological molecular processes underlying disease onset. Especially in neurological diseases, there is a great need for iPSC-based technological research, as these cells can be obtained from each patient and carry the individual’s bulk of genetic mutations and unique properties. Moreover, iPSCs can differentiate into multiple cell types. These are essential characteristics, since the study of neurological diseases is affected by the limited access to injury sites, the need for in vitro models composed of various cell types, the complexity of reproducing the brain’s anatomy, the challenges of postmortem cell culture, and ethical issues. Neurodegenerative diseases strongly impact global health due to their high incidence, symptom severity, and lack of effective therapies. Recently, analyses using disease specific, iPSC-based models confirmed the efficacy of these models for testing multiple drugs. This review summarizes the advances in iPSC technology used in disease modelling and drug testing, with a primary focus on neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.