An in vitro neurogenetics platform for precision disease modeling in the mouse

Abstract

The power and scope of disease modeling can be markedly enhanced through the incorporation of broad genetic diversity. The introduction of pathogenic mutations into a single inbred mouse strain sometimes fails to mimic human disease. We describe a cross-species precision disease modeling platform that exploits mouse genetic diversity to bridge cell-based modeling with whole organism analysis. We developed a universal protocol that permitted robust and reproducible neural differentiation of genetically diverse human and mouse pluripotent stem cell lines and then carried out a proof-of-concept study of the neurodevelopmental gene DYRK1A. Results in vitro reliably predicted the effects of genetic background on Dyrk1a loss-of-function phenotypes in vivo. Transcriptomic comparison of responsive and unresponsive strains identified molecular pathways conferring sensitivity or resilience to Dyrk1a1A loss and highlighted differential messenger RNA isoform usage as an important determinant of response. This cross-species strategy provides a powerful tool in the functional analysis of candidate disease variants identified through human genetic studies.