The National Institutes of Health’s Center for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias (CARD) recently unveiled a new web portal to share stem cell lines used for the study of neurodegenerative conditions, including FTD.  

The portal makes available isogenic-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) engineered by CARD to carry the genetic variants associated with FTD, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.  

The web portal is run by the Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and allows researchers to order either individual iPSC lines or an entire set of stem cell lines. The central warehouse at JAX is capable of shipping stem cell samples anywhere in the world and is expected to have more cell lines available in the future.   

The web portal is the result of the iPSC Neurodegenerative Disease Initiative, a joint project between NIH, Jackson Laboratory, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The project, started in 2021, sought to create a central repository for researchers to source gene variants that are vital to ongoing research.  

If you’re a researcher and are interested in obtaining iPSC lines for your work, you can visit JAX’s web portal to place an order. If you’re looking for funding opportunities or other resources to help your research, visit AFTD’s dedicated page for researchers.