<i>RBFOX1</i> Dysfunction Unlocks <i>APOE4</i> ‐Associated Microglial Genesis and Exacerbates Alzheimer's Pathology in Human Cerebral Organoids
organoids. Time-course gene expression revealed that this APOE4-specific effect correlated with prolonged mesodermal priming during early embryoid body differentiation, creating a permissive niche for microglial lineage specification. The emergent microglia exhibited pronounced neurotoxic phenotypes, including pro-inflammatory factor secretion, synaptic architecture remodeling, and lipid droplet accumulation in organoids. These changes coincided with aggravated Tau hyperphosphorylation and electrophysiological abnormalities, collectively mirroring multifaceted AD pathology. Our findings establish RBFOX1 as a potential AD protective factor, a critical suppressor of APOE4-glia crosstalk, and demonstrate that its loss unleashes a microglia-mediated neurodegenerative cascade. By developing cerebral organoids with autonomous microglial networks, we present a platform capable of modeling genotype-dependent neuron-glia interactions in AD, opening new avenues for mechanistic and therapeutic exploration.
Authors
- Jiaxue Cha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5917-5441)
- Qiuhong Hua
- Changjie Shi
- Jianhuang Xue (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0623-2200)
- Jiayi Zhao
- Yujun Hou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1778-1176)
- Yuanyuan Qian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9835-5202)
- Bowen Zhang
- Jiayao Chen
- Hailin Gao
- Houchun Zhang
- Jing Li
- Ru Zhang
Institutions
- Tongji University (CN)
- Shanghai East Hospital (CN)
- Sungkyunkwan University (KR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Exploration
- Published
- 2026-04-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/exp2.70160
- Primary Topic
- Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities