APOE genotype confers context dependent neurovascular vulnerability in immune-vascularized human forebrain organoids

Abstract

The APOE gene is a major genetic determinant of neurovascular and immune function, yet the mechanisms by which its isoforms modulate brain vulnerability to pathogenic stress remain incompletely understood. Here, we employ isogenic human iPSC-derived immune-vascularized--Forebrain Organoid-based Multicellular Assembled Cerebral Organoids (FORMA-COs)--to dissect isoform-specific responses to a clinically relevant viral challenge. We find that APOE2/2 and APOE4/4 FORMA-COs exhibit heightened viral RNA burden and distinct neuroinflammatory profiles compared to APOE3/3. Specifically, APOE4/4 promotes IL-1 and VEGFA induction, whereas APOE2/2 leads to elevated TNF-{beta} and VEGFA protein accumulation, indicating divergent pathways of injury. Integrated transcriptomic analyses, combined with known and predicted APOE protein-protein interaction networks, reveal genotype-dependent enrichment of cytokine signaling, angiogenic remodeling, and immune dysregulation. In vivo validation using humanized mouse models corroborates APOE genotype- specific vascular remodeling, microglial activation, and oligodendrocyte perturbation. These findings demonstrate that APOE genotype confers context-specific susceptibility to neuroimmune and vascular injury, providing insight into genetic risk mechanisms underlying infection-related and neurodegenerative brain disorders.