The generation of patient-derived iPSCs has facilitated new opportunities to examine the relationships between genetic risk factors and disease. Recently, genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several genes expressed by microglia that are associated with the risk of developing late-onset AD (LOAD), such as TREM2 and CD33. The role of these genes in microglial function and AD are just beginning to be examined in mouse models, but the generation of human microglia-like cells would allow for the interrogation of human-specific genes that cannot be modeled in mice.
