Name: the specification of telencephalic glutamatergic neurons from human pluripotent stem cells
Uploaded: 2013-04-14T14:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about The Specification of Telencephalic Glutamatergic Neurons from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells at JoVE.com

The authors would like to thank Dr. Y. Sasai for generously providing the FOXG1 antibody. This work was supported by Connecticut Stem Cell Research Grants (08-SCB-UCHC-022 and 11-SCB24) and Spastic Paraplegia Foundation.

1. Generation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Aggregates (D1-D4)
<ol>
	<li>Human pluripotent stem cells are cultured on mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) feeders in the presence of hESC medium supplemented with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF, 4 ng/ml). After 5-7 days in culture, when the colonies are big but still undifferentiated, they are ready for the next step.</li>
	<li>The enzyme solution should first be prepared. In a 50 ml tube, dissolve the dispase (or collagenase) at a 1 mg/ml concentration into DMEM/F12 ...

<ol>
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There are several critical steps during the neural differentiation process. It is important to ensure that the human PSCs are pluripotent because otherwise the cells may already be biased towards becoming a non-neuronal lineage. This can be confirmed by staining the human PSCs with antibodies against pluripotency markers such as Oct4, Sox2, Nanog, and Tra-1-60 1-3. If the human PSCs do not attach very well after passaging them, ROCK inhibitor (Y27632) can be added to help. For those having difficulty with keep...

Human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), including both human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), have the capacity to generate every cell type in the body, including neurons1-3. Directed differentiation of various neuronal subtypes from human PSCs holds the key for the application of these cells in regenerative medicine. The generation of functional neuronal subtypes during development is a complex process involving the induction of neural lineage, the specification of regional progenitors along the rostro-caudal axis, and the differentiation of post-mitotic neuron types from the regional progenitors4,5. Beginning in 2001, several systems have been established to generate neural lineage from hESCs, which have provided a platform for the subsequent generation of neuronal subtypes6,7. Based upon developmental principles, several neuron types such as spinal motor neurons8-12, midbrain dopaminergic neurons13-15, and neural retinal cells16,17 have been efficiently specified from human PSCs. This was done by applying critical morphogens which are important for the specification of these neuron types during in vivo development. Other protocols have also been developed to promote the differentiation of hESCs into neurons using either additional factors18-20 such as small molecules or by co-culturing with other cell types to help promote differentiation21.
The human neocortex is highly developed and contains many cell types, including glutamatergic neurons which play an important role in learning, memory, and cognitive function22,23. The first step in generating glutamatergic neurons in culture is to specify telencephalic progenitor cells. Yoshiki Sasai's group first reported the directed differentiation of telencephalic precursors from mouse ESCs (mESCs) using a serum-free suspension culture in the presence of DKK1 (which inhibits Wnt signaling) as well as LeftyA (which inhibits nodal signaling)24. Subsequently, several groups including ours have also reported the specification of telencephalic precursors from human PSCs in serum free medium 25-27. The generation of telencephalic precursors from human PSCs does not require the use of exogenous morphogens and the efficiency in generating these precursors is much higher than that from mESCs 26,27. Here, a chemically defined system for neural induction which was well established by Zhang's group7 has been described. Without the addition of exogenous caudalizing factors, this protocol efficiently generates telencephalic precursors from human PSCs27. These progenitors can then be differentiated into dorsal or ventral progenitors by regulating the signaling of Wnt and sonic hedgehog (SHH).The dorsal progenitors can further differentiate into glutamatergic neurons efficiently27. In addition, this protocol also works well for the generation of glutamatergic neurons from human iPSCs28, which allows for the generation of patient-specific neurons that can be utilized to explore the mechanism of action as well as potential therapies for a large array of diseases. Moreover, our system also provides a platform to explore the development and specification of diverse neuronal types in the telencephalon.

<table border="1">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Reagent</td>
			<td>Supplier</td>
			<td>Catalog #</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dulbecco's modified eagle medium with F12 nutrient mixture (DMEM/F12)</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>11330-032</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Knockout Serum Replacer</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>10828-028</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>L-glutamine (200 mM)</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>25030</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Non Essential Amino Acids</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>1140-050</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>2-Mercaptoethanol (14.3 M)</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>M-7522</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Neurobasal medium</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>21103-049</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>N2</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>17502-048</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>B27</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>12587-010</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Heparin</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>H3149</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Poly-L-ornithine hydrobromide (polyornithine)</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>116K5103</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Laminin (human)</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>L-6274</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Laminin (mouse)</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>23017-015</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>FBS</td>
			<td>Gemini</td>
			<td>100-106</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bovine serum albumin (BSA)</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>A-7906</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dispase</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>17105-041</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Collagenase</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>17104-019</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Accutase</td>
			<td>Innovative Cell Technologies</td>
			<td>AT104</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ROCK Inhibitor</td>
			<td>Stemgent</td>
			<td>04-0012</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SB431542</td>
			<td>Stemgent</td>
			<td>04-0010</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dorsomorphin</td>
			<td>Stemgent</td>
			<td>04-0024</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2, bFGF)</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>13256-029</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Trypsin inhibitor</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>17075</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>0.1% gelatin</td>
			<td>Millipore</td>
			<td>ES-006-B</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Foxg1 antibody</td>
			<td>Dr. Y. Sasai</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hoxb4 antibody (1:50)</td>
			<td>Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank</td>
			<td>I12</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pax6 antibody (1:5000)</td>
			<td>Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank</td>
			<td>PAX6</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nkx2.1 antibody (1:200)</td>
			<td>Chemicon</td>
			<td>MAB5460</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tbr1 antibody (1:2000)</td>
			<td>Chemicon</td>
			<td>AB9616</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>vGLUT1 antibody (1:100)</td>
			<td>Synaptic Systems</td>
			<td>135302</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)</td>
			<td>PrepoTech Inc.</td>
			<td>450-02</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glial derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF)</td>
			<td>PrepoTech Inc.</td>
			<td>450-10</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Insulin growth factor 1 (IGF1)</td>
			<td>PrepoTech Inc.</td>
			<td>100-11</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cyclic AMP (cAMP)</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>D-0260</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sonic hedgehog (SHH)</td>
			<td>R&amp;D</td>
			<td>1845-SH</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>50 ml tubes</td>
			<td>Becton Dickinson (BD)</td>
			<td>352098</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>15 ml tubes</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>352097</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>6 well plates</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>353046</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>24 well plates</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>353047</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>T25 flasks (untreated)</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>353009</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>T75 flasks (untreated)</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>353133</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Coverslips</td>
			<td>Chemiglass Life Sciences</td>
			<td>1760-012</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>6 cm Petri dishes</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>353004</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>9'' glass pipetes</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>13-678-20D</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Steriflip filters (0.22 &mu;M)</td>
			<td>Millipore</td>
			<td>SCGP00525</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Stericup filters 1,000 ml (0.22 &mu;M)</td>
			<td>Millipore</td>
			<td>SCGPU10RE</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Phase contrast microscope (Observer A1)</td>
			<td>Zeiss</td>
			<td>R2625</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Carbon dioxide incubator (Hera Cell 150)</td>
			<td>Thermo Electron Corporation</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Biosafety hood (Sterilgard III Advance)</td>
			<td>The Baker Company</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Centrifuge (5702 R)</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

the specification of telencephalic glutamatergic neurons from human pluripotent stem cells

Here, a stepwise procedure for efficiently generating telencephalic glutamatergic neurons from human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) has been described. The differentiation process is initiated by breaking the human PSCs into clumps which round up to form aggregates when the cells are placed in a suspension culture. The aggregates are then grown in hESC medium from days 1-4 to allow for spontaneous differentiation. During this time, the cells have the capacity to become any of the three germ layers. From days 5-8, the cells are placed in a neural induction medium to push them into the neural lineage. Around day 8, the cells are allowed to attach onto 6 well plates and differentiate during which time the neuroepithelial cells form. These neuroepithelial cells can be isolated at day 17. The cells can then be kept as neurospheres until they are ready to be plated onto coverslips. Using a basic medium without any caudalizing factors, neuroepithelial cells are specified into telencephalic precursors, which can then be further differentiated into dorsal telencephalic progenitors and glutamatergic neurons efficiently. Overall, our system provides a tool to generate human glutamatergic neurons for researchers to study the development of these neurons and the diseases which affect them.

Here, a protocol to differentiate human PSCs into telencephalic glutamatergic neurons through several critical steps: the formation of PSC aggregates, the induction of neuroepithelial cells, the generation of telencephalic progenitors, and the terminal differentiation of these progenitors into telencephalic neurons (Figure 1) has been described. This system is robust and efficient in the generation of telencephalic progenitors and glutamatergic neurons. As an example (Figure 2), without ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about The Specification of Telencephalic Glutamatergic Neurons from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells at JoVE.com

The Specification of Telencephalic Glutamatergic Neurons from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

This procedure yields telencephalic neurons by going through checkpoints which are similar to those observed during human development. The cells are allowed to spontaneously differentiate, are exposed to factors which push them towards the neural lineage, are isolated, and are plated onto coverslips to allow for terminal differentiation and maturation.

Here, a stepwise procedure for efficiently generating telencephalic glutamatergic neurons from human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) has been described. The ...

Research

JoVE Journal

Neuroscience

Efficient Derivation of Human Neuronal Progenitors and Neurons from Pluripotent Human Embryonic Stem Cells with Small Molecule Induction

There is a large unfulfilled need for a clinically-suitable human neuronal cell source for repair or regeneration of the damaged central nervous system ...

A cGMP-applicable Expansion Method for Aggregates of Human Neural Stem and Progenitor Cells Derived From Pluripotent Stem Cells or Fetal Brain Tissue

A cell expansion technique to amass large numbers of cells from a single specimen for research experiments and clinical trials would greatly benefit the ...

Feeder-free Derivation of Neural Crest Progenitor Cells from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have great potential for studying human embryonic development, for modeling human diseases in the dish and as a ...

Directed Dopaminergic Neuron Differentiation from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta  (also known as A9 DA neurons) are the specific cell type that is lost in ...

Simple Generation of a High Yield Culture of Induced Neurons from Human Adult Skin Fibroblasts

Induced neurons (iNs), the product of somatic cells directly converted to neurons, are a way to obtain patient-derived neurons from tissue that is easily ...

Conversion of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) into Functional Spinal and Cranial Motor Neurons Using PiggyBac Vectors

Conversion of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells iPSCs into Functional Spinal and Cranial Motor Neurons Using PiggyBac Vectors

We describe here a method to obtain functional spinal and cranial motor neurons from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Direct conversion into ...

Analyzing Mitochondrial Transport and Morphology in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neurons in Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia

Neurons have intense demands for high energy in order to support their functions. Impaired mitochondrial transport along axons has been observed in human ...

Derivation, Expansion, Cryopreservation and Characterization of Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) can be differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to develop ex vivo cellular models ...

Generation of Human Neurons and Oligodendrocytes from Pluripotent Stem Cells for Modeling Neuron-Oligodendrocyte Interactions

In Alzheimer&#8217;s disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders, oligodendroglial failure is a common early pathological feature, but how it ...

Human Microglia-like Cells: Differentiation from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells and In Vitro Live-cell Phagocytosis Assay using Human Synaptosomes

Human Microglia-like Cells: Differentiation from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells and In Vitro Live-cell Phagocytosis Assay using Human Synaptosomes

Microglia are the resident immune cells of myeloid origin that maintain homeostasis in the brain microenvironment and have become a key player in multiple ...