
Human Brain Disease Modelling (Lehtonen lab)
We are also interested in building up a human organ-on-chip model for the blood-brain barrier (BBB) as the BBB and drugs’ ability to cross the BBB and reach the correct target is critical when designing drugs for neurological diseases. To this end, we utilize stem cell-derived human endothelial cells, astrocytes, and pericytes and combine them with organ-on-chip technology. The use of all human cells omits problems arising from cross-species differences, and the organ-on-chip technology mimics the physiological architecture of the BBB and fully control the cellular microenvironment. The chips are provided by Finnadvance – an Oulu-based startup company. Our goal is to use the BBB chips for testing novel drugs and biomolecules like extracellular vesicles to penetrate the BBB. We are also interested in using the model to uncover the molecular and transport mechanisms that regulate BBB permeability in physiological and pathological conditions.
Keywords
Group members - UEF
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Šárka Lehtonen Senior Researcher , Faculty of Health Sciences, A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences
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Jonna Niskanen Early Stage Researcher , Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
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Tuuli-Maria Sonninen Early Stage Researcher , Faculty of Health Sciences, A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences
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Lidiia Plotnikova Project researcher
Leader(s)
Doctoral Students
Supporting Staff
Other group members
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Sanni Peltonen sannipel@student.uef.fi
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Sara Kälvälä sarsk@student.uef.fi
Collaboration at UEF
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AIVI Stem Cell Center The stem cell core facility of Biocenter Kuopio...
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Cell and Tissue Imaging Unit Our imaging core facility provides the instrume...
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Martikainen lab Our research group is interested in mitochondri...
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Neuroinflammation research group
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Neurobiology of schizophrenia Group leader:
Professor Jari Tiihonen -
Biomedical Informatics We make use of large-scale biomedical data, suc...
Cooperation partners
Publications by the research group members
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A CX3CR1 Reporter hESC Line Facilitates Integrative Analysis of In-Vitro-Derived Microglia and Improved Microglia Identity upon Neuron-Glia Co-culture Grubman, Alexandra; Vandekolk, Teresa H; Schröder, Jan; Sun, Guizhi; Hatwell-Humble, Jessica; Chan, Jonathan; Oksanen, Minna; Lehtonen, Sarka; Hunt, Cameron; Koistinaho, Jari; Nilsson, Susan; Haynes, John; Pouton, Colin; Polo, Jose. 2020. A CX3CR1 Reporter hESC Line Facilitates Integrative Analysis of In-Vitro-Derived Microglia and Improved Microglia Identity upon Neuron-Glia Co-culture Stem cell reports 14: 1-15. 2020
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Altered Brain Endothelial Cell Phenotype from a Familial Alzheimer Mutation and Its Potential Implications for Amyloid Clearance and Drug Delivery Oikari, Lotta; Pandit, Rucha; Stewart, Romal; Cuní-López, Carla; Quek, Hazel; Sutharsan, Ratneswary; Rantanen, Laura; Oksanen, Minna; Lehtonen, Sarka; de Boer, Carmela Maria; Polo, Jose; Götz, Jürgen; Koistinaho, Jari; White, Anthony. 2020. Altered Brain Endothelial Cell Phenotype from a Familial Alzheimer Mutation and Its Potential Implications for Amyloid Clearance and Drug Delivery Stem cell reports 14: 1-16. 2020
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Metabolic alterations in Parkinson's disease astrocytes Sonninen, Tuuli-Maria; Hämäläinen, Riikka H; Koskuvi, Marja; Oksanen, Minna; Shakirzyanova, Anastasia; Wojciechowski, Sara; Puttonen, Katja; Naumenko, Nikolay; Goldsteins, Gundars; Laham-Karam, Nihay; Lehtonen, Marko; Tavi, Pasi; Koistinaho, Jari; Lehtonen, Šárka. 2020. Metabolic alterations in Parkinson's disease astrocytes Scientific reports 10 1: 14474. 2020
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Metabolic and immune dysfunction of glia in neurodegenerative disorders: focus on iPSC models Rolova, Taisia; Lehtonen, Sárka; Goldsteins, Gundars; Kettunen, Pinja; Koistinaho, Jari. 2020. Metabolic and immune dysfunction of glia in neurodegenerative disorders: focus on iPSC models Stem cells 2021; 39 3: 256-265. 2020
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Proteostasis Disturbances and Inflammation in Neurodegenerative Diseases Sonninen, Tuuli-Maria; Goldsteins, Gundars; Laham-Karam, Nihay; Koistinaho, Jari; Lehtonen, Sarka. 2020. Proteostasis Disturbances and Inflammation in Neurodegenerative Diseases Cells 9 10: 2183. 2020
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Dysfunction of Cellular Proteostasis in Parkinson's Disease Lehtonen, Š; Sonninen, TM; Wojciechowski, S; Goldsteins, G; Koistinaho, J. 2019. Dysfunction of Cellular Proteostasis in Parkinson's Disease Frontiers in neuroscience 13: 457. 2019
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Neurobiological roots of psychopathy Tiihonen, J; Koskuvi, M; Lähteenvuo, M; Virtanen, PLJ; Ojansuu, I; Vaurio, O; Gao, Y; Hyötyläinen, I; Puttonen, KA; Repo-Tiihonen, E; Paunio, T; Rautiainen, MR; Tyni, S; Koistinaho, J; Lehtonen, S. 2019. Neurobiological roots of psychopathy Molecular psychiatry [Epub ahead of print 27 Aug 2019]: 1-10. 2019
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PSEN1ΔE9, APPswe, and APOE4 Confer Disparate Phenotypes in Human iPSC-Derived Microglia Konttinen, H; Cabral-da-Silva, MEC; Ohtonen, S; Wojciechowski, S; Shakirzyanova, A; Caligola, S; Giugno, R; Ishchenko, Y; Hernández, D; Fazaludeen, MF; Eamen, S; Budia, MG; Fagerlund, I; Scoyni, F; Korhonen, P; Huber, N; Haapasalo, A; Hewitt, AW; Vickers, J; Smith, GC; et al.. 2019. PSEN1ΔE9, APPswe, and APOE4 Confer Disparate Phenotypes in Human iPSC-Derived Microglia Stem cell reports 13 4: 669-683. 2019
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Sex-specific transcriptional and proteomic signatures in schizophrenia Tiihonen, J; Koskuvi, M; Storvik, M; Hyötyläinen, I; Gao, Y; Puttonen, KA; Giniatullina, R; Poguzhelskaya, E; Ojansuu, I; Vaurio, O; Cannon, TD; Lönnqvist, J; Therman, S; Suvisaari, J; Kaprio, J; Cheng, L; Hill, AF; Lähteenvuo, M; Tohka, J; Giniatullin, R; et al.. 2019. Sex-specific transcriptional and proteomic signatures in schizophrenia Nature communications 10 1: 3933. 2019
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Nontargeted Metabolite Profiling of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) Derived Neural Cells: Insights Into Mechanisms of Brain Diseases Lehtonen Šárka, Lehtonen Marko, Koistinaho Jari. 2016. Nontargeted Metabolite Profiling of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) Derived Neural Cells: Insights Into Mechanisms of Brain Diseases. Teoksessa: Tomizava Minoru (toim.) Pluripotent Stem Cells - From the Bench to the Clinic. Intech. s. 209-226. 2016