Somatic and Stem Cell Bank to study the contribution of African ancestry to dementia: African iPSC Initiative

INTRODUCTION

Africa, home to 1.4 billion people and the highest genetic diversity globally, harbors unique genetic variants crucial for understanding complex diseases like neurodegenerative disorders. However, African populations remain underrepresented in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) collections, limiting the exploration of population‐specific disease mechanisms and therapeutic discoveries.

METHODS

To address this gap, we established an open‐access African Somatic and Stem Cell Bank.

RESULTS

In this initial phase, we generated 10 rigorously characterized iPSC lines from fibroblasts representing five Nigerian ethnic groups and both sexes. These lines underwent extensive profiling for pluripotency, genetic stability, differentiation potential, and Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease risk variants. Clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR‐associated protein 9 technology was used to introduce frontotemporal dementia‐associated MAPT mutations (P301L and R406W).

DISCUSSION

This collection offers a renewable, genetically diverse resource to investigate disease pathogenicity in African populations, facilitating breakthroughs in neurodegenerative research, drug discovery, and regenerative medicine.

Highlights

• We established an open‐access African Somatic and Stem Cell Bank.

• 10 induced pluripotent stem cell lines from five Nigerian ethnic groups were rigorously characterized.

• Clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR‐associated protein 9 technology was used to introduce frontotemporal dementia‐causing MAPT mutations.

• The African Somatic and Stem Cell Bank is a renewable, genetically diverse resource for neurodegenerative research.