Applying Spinal Cord Organoids as a quantitative approach to study the mammalian Hedgehog pathway

The Hedgehog (HH) pathway is crucial for embryonic development, and adult homeostasis. Its dysregulation is implicated in multiple diseases. Existing cellular models used to study HH signal regulation in mammals do not fully recapitulate the complexity of the pathway. Here we show that Spinal Cord Organoids (SCOs) can be applied to quantitively study the activity of the HH pathway. During SCO formation, the specification of different categories of neural progenitors (NPC) depends on the intensity of the HH signal, mirroring the process that occurs during neural tube development. By assessing the number of NPCs within these distinct subgroups, we are able to categorize and quantify the activation level of the HH pathway. We validate this system by measuring the effects of mutating the HH receptor PTCH1 and the impact of HH agonists and antagonists on NPC specification. SCOs represent an accessible and reliable in-vitro tool to quantify HH signaling and investigate the contribution of genetic and chemical cues in the HH pathway regulation.