Choi, Se HoonKim, Young HyeQuinti, LuisaTanzi, RudolphKim, Doo Yeon2017-01-032016Choi, Se Hoon, Young Hye Kim, Luisa Quinti, Rudolph E. Tanzi, and Doo Yeon Kim. 2016. “3D culture models of Alzheimer’s disease: a road map to a “cure-in-a-dish”.” Molecular Neurodegeneration 11 (1): 75. doi:10.1186/s13024-016-0139-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13024-016-0139-7.1750-1326http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:29738969Alzheimer’s disease (AD) transgenic mice have been used as a standard AD model for basic mechanistic studies and drug discovery. These mouse models showed symbolic AD pathologies including β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques, gliosis and memory deficits but failed to fully recapitulate AD pathogenic cascades including robust phospho tau (p-tau) accumulation, clear neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and neurodegeneration, solely driven by familial AD (FAD) mutation(s). Recent advances in human stem cell and three-dimensional (3D) culture technologies made it possible to generate novel 3D neural cell culture models that recapitulate AD pathologies including robust Aβ deposition and Aβ-driven NFT-like tau pathology. These new 3D human cell culture models of AD hold a promise for a novel platform that can be used for mechanism studies in human brain-like environment and high-throughput drug screening (HTS). In this review, we will summarize the current progress in recapitulating AD pathogenic cascades in human neural cell culture models using AD patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) or genetically modified human stem cell lines. We will also explain how new 3D culture technologies were applied to accelerate Aβ and p-tau pathologies in human neural cell cultures, as compared the standard two-dimensional (2D) culture conditions. Finally, we will discuss a potential impact of the human 3D human neural cell culture models on the AD drug-development process. These revolutionary 3D culture models of AD will contribute to accelerate the discovery of novel AD drugs.en-USAlzheimer’s diseaseThree-dimensional cultureAmyloid plaquesNeurofibrillary tanglesInduced-pluripotent stem cellHigh-throughput drug screeningJournal Article2017-01-0310.1186/s13024-016-0139-7