In light of the need to examine genetically associated loci across a developmental continuum, and implication of neural stem cell neurogenesis in mood regulation, cellular models that allow access to different developmental stages would be invaluable to the further study of mood disorders. Fortunately, recent advances in human stem-cell biology now provide the technology to create genetically accurate, patient-derived cellular tools through the reprogramming of somatic cells to a pluripotent state. Multiple central nervous system (CNS) lineages, including neurons and glia, can be derived from iPSCs facilitating access to ex vivo characterization of patient-specific, cellular phenotypes that have otherwise been inaccessible15–17. Reflective of the increasing value of this strategy for human disease modeling, disease-specific, stem cell models have now been generated from multiple monogenic disorders using somatic cell reprogramming18–24. However, despite the potential for providing a basic human cellular model system and critically needed insight into the underlying pathophysiology, to date, only limited application of iPSC modeling has been performed in the context of complex genetic disorders25–28.
