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 ...

the-specification-telencephalic-glutamatergic-neurons-from-human

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 (CNS) structure and circuitry in today's healthcare industry. Cell-based therapies hold great promise to restore the lost nerve tissue and function for CNS disorders. However, cell therapies based on CNS-derived neural stem cells have encountered supply restriction and difficulty to use in the clinical setting due to their limited expansion ability in culture and failing plasticity after extensive passaging1-3. Despite some beneficial outcomes, the CNS-derived human neural stem cells (hNSCs) appear to exert their therapeutic effects primarily by their non-neuronal progenies through producing trophic and neuroprotective molecules to rescue the endogenous cells1-3. Alternatively, pluripotent human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) proffer cures for a wide range of neurological disorders by supplying the diversity of human neuronal cell types in the developing CNS for regeneration1,4-7. However, how to channel the wide differentiation potential of pluripotent hESCs efficiently and predictably to a desired phenotype has been a major challenge for both developmental study and clinical translation. Conventional approaches rely on multi-lineage inclination of pluripotent cells through spontaneous germ layer differentiation, resulting in inefficient and uncontrollable lineage-commitment that is often followed by phenotypic heterogeneity and instability, hence, a high risk of tumorigenicity7-10. In addition, undefined foreign/animal biological supplements and/or feeders that have typically been used for the isolation, expansion, and differentiation of hESCs may make direct use of such cell-specialized grafts in patients problematic11-13. To overcome these obstacles, we have resolved the elements of a defined culture system necessary and sufficient for sustaining the epiblast pluripotence of hESCs, serving as a platform for de novo derivation of clinically-suitable hESCs and effectively directing such hESCs uniformly towards clinically-relevant lineages by small molecules14 (please see a schematic in Fig. 1). Retinoic acid (RA) does not induce neuronal differentiation of undifferentiated hESCs maintained on feeders1, 14. And unlike mouse ESCs, treating hESC-differentiated embryoid bodies (EBs) only slightly increases the low yield of neurons1, 14, 15. However, after screening a variety of small molecules and growth factors, we found that such defined conditions rendered retinoic acid (RA) sufficient to induce the specification of neuroectoderm direct from pluripotent hESCs that further progressed to neuroblasts that generated human neuronal progenitors and neurons in the developing CNS with high efficiency (Fig. 2). We defined conditions for induction of neuroblasts direct from pluripotent hESCs without an intervening multi-lineage embryoid body stage, enabling well-controlled efficient derivation of a large supply of human neuronal cells across the spectrum of developmental stages for cell-based therapeutics.

We have established a protocol for induction of neuroblasts direct from pluripotent human embryonic stem cells maintained under defined conditions with small molecules, which enables derivation of a large supply of human neuronal progenitors and neuronal cell types in the developing CNS for neural repair.

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 stem cell community. Many current expansion methods are laborious and costly, and those involving complete dissociation may cause several stem and progenitor cell types to undergo differentiation or early senescence. To overcome these problems, we have developed an automated mechanical passaging method referred to as &#8220;chopping&#8221; that is simple and inexpensive. This technique avoids chemical or enzymatic dissociation into single cells and instead allows for the large-scale expansion of suspended, spheroid cultures that maintain constant cell/cell contact. The chopping method has primarily been used for fetal brain-derived neural progenitor cells or neurospheres, and has recently been published for use with neural stem cells derived from embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells. The procedure involves seeding neurospheres onto a tissue culture Petri dish and subsequently passing a sharp, sterile blade through the cells effectively automating the tedious process of manually mechanically dissociating each sphere. Suspending cells in culture provides a favorable surface area-to-volume ratio; as over 500,000 cells can be grown within a single neurosphere of less than 0.5 mm in diameter. In one T175 flask, over 50 million cells can grow in suspension cultures compared to only 15 million in adherent cultures. Importantly, the chopping procedure has been used under current good manufacturing practice (cGMP), permitting mass quantity production of clinical-grade cell products.

This protocol describes a novel mechanical chopping method that allows the expansion of spherical neural stem and progenitor cell aggregates without dissociation to a single cell suspension.&#160; Maintaining cell/cell contact allows rapid and stable growth for over 40 passages.

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 source of transplantable cells for regenerative applications after disease or accidents. Neural crest (NC) cells are the precursors for a large variety of adult somatic cells, such as cells from the peripheral nervous system and glia, melanocytes and mesenchymal cells. They are a valuable source of cells to study aspects of human embryonic development, including cell fate specification and migration. Further differentiation of NC progenitor cells into terminally differentiated cell types offers the possibility to model human diseases in vitro, investigate disease mechanisms and generate cells for regenerative medicine. This article presents the adaptation of a currently available in vitro differentiation protocol for the derivation of NC cells from hPSCs. This new protocol requires 18 days of differentiation, is feeder-free, easily scalable and highly reproducible among human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines as well as human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) lines. Both old and new protocols yield NC cells of equal identity.

Neural crest (NC) cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) have great potential for modeling human development and disease and for cell replacement therapies. Here, a feeder-free adaptation of the currently widely used in vitro differentiation protocol for the derivation of NC cells from hPSCs is presented.

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 Parkinson&#8217;s disease (PD). There is great interest in deriving A9 DA neurons from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) for regenerative cell replacement therapy for PD. During neural development, A9 DA neurons originate from the floor plate (FP) precursors located at the ventral midline of the central nervous system. Here, we optimized the culture conditions for the stepwise differentiation of hPSCs to A9 DA neurons, which mimics embryonic DA neuron development. In our protocol, we first describe the efficient generation of FP precursor cells from hPSCs using a small molecule method, and then convert the FP cells to A9 DA neurons, which could be maintained in vitro for several months. This efficient, repeatable and controllable protocol works well in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from normal persons and PD patients, in which one could derive A9 DA neurons to perform in vitro disease modeling and drug screening and in vivo cell transplantation therapy for PD.

We, based on knowledge from developmental biology and published research, developed an optimized protocol to efficiently generate A9 midbrain dopaminergic neurons from both human embryonic stem cells and human induced pluripotent stem cells, which would be useful for disease modeling and cell replacement therapy for Parkinson&#8217;s disease.

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 accessible. Through this route, mature neurons can be obtained in a matter of a few weeks. Here, we describe a straightforward and rapid one-step protocol to obtain iNs from dermal fibroblasts obtained through biopsy samples from adult human donors. We explain each step of the process, including the maintenance of the dermal fibroblasts, the freezing procedure to build a stock of the cell line, seeding of the cells for reprogramming, as well as the culture conditions during the conversion process. In addition, we describe the preparation of glass coverslips for electrophysiological recordings, long-term coating conditions, and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). We also illustrate examples of the results to be expected. The protocol described here is easy to perform and can be applied to human fibroblasts derived from human skin biopsies from patients with various different diagnoses and ages. This protocol generates a sufficient amount of iNs which can be used for a wide array of biomedical applications, including disease modeling, drug screening, and target validation.

Direct neuronal reprogramming generates neurons that maintain the age of the starting somatic cell. Here, we describe a single vector-based method to generate induced neurons from dermal fibroblasts obtained from adult human donors.

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 ...

Post-differentiation Replating of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Neurons for High-content Screening of Neuritogenesis and Synapse Maturation

Neurons differentiated in two-dimensional culture from human pluripotent stem-cell-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) represent a powerful model system to explore disease mechanisms and carry out high content screening (HCS) to interrogate compound libraries or identify gene mutation phenotypes. However, with human cells the transition from NPC to functional, mature neuron requires several weeks. Synapses typically start to form after 3 weeks of differentiation in monolayer culture, and several neuron-specific proteins, for example the later expressing pan-neuronal marker NeuN, or the layer 5/6 cerebral cortical neuron marker CTIP2, begin to express around 4-5 weeks post-differentiation. This lengthy differentiation time can be incompatible with optimal culture conditions used for small volume, multi-well HCS platforms. Among the many challenges are the need for well-adhered, uniformly distributed cells with minimal cell clustering, and culture procedures that foster long-term viability and functional synapse maturation. One approach is to differentiate neurons in a large volume format, then replate them at a later time point in HCS-compatible multi-wells. Some main challenges when using this replating approach concern reproducibility and cell viability, due to the stressful disruption of the dendritic and axonal network. Here we demonstrate a detailed and reliable procedure for enzymatically resuspending human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neurons after their differentiation for 4-8 weeks in a large-volume format, transferring them to 384-well microtiter plates, and culturing them for a further 1-3 weeks with excellent cell survival. This replating of human neurons not only allows the study of synapse assembly and maturation within two weeks from replating, but also enables studies of neurite regeneration and growth cone characteristics. We provide examples of scalable assays for neuritogenesis and synaptogenesis using a 384-well platform.

This protocol describes a detailed procedure for resuspending and culturing human stem cell derived neurons that were previously differentiated from neural progenitors in vitro for multiple weeks. The procedure facilitates imaging-based assays of neurites, synapses, and late-expressing neuronal markers in a format compatible with light microscopy and high-content screening.

Neurons differentiated in two-dimensional culture from human pluripotent stem-cell-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) represent a powerful model ...

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 motor neuron is obtained by ectopic expression of alternative modules of transcription factors, namely Ngn2, Isl1 and Lhx3 (NIL) or Ngn2, Isl1 and Phox2a (NIP). NIL and NIP specify, respectively, spinal and cranial motor neuron identity. Our protocol starts with the generation of modified iPSC lines in which NIL or NIP are stably integrated in the genome via a piggyBac transposon vector. Expression of the transgenes is then induced by doxycycline and leads, in 5 days, to the conversion of iPSCs into MN progenitors. Subsequent maturation, for 7 days, leads to homogeneous populations of spinal or cranial MNs. Our method holds several advantages over previous protocols: it is extremely rapid and simplified; it does not require viral infection or further MN isolation; it allows generating different MN subpopulations (spinal and cranial) with a remarkable degree of maturation, as demonstrated by the ability to fire trains of action potentials. Moreover, a large number of motor neurons can be obtained without purification from mixed populations. iPSC-derived spinal and cranial motor neurons can be used for in vitro modeling of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases of the motor neuron. Homogeneous motor neuron populations might represent an important resource for cell type specific drug screenings.

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

This protocol allows rapid and efficient conversion of induced pluripotent stem cells into motor neurons with a spinal or cranial identity, by ectopic expression of transcription factors from inducible 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 neurons, which may contribute to neurodegeneration in various disease states. Although it is challenging to examine mitochondrial dynamics in live human nerves, such paradigms are critical for studying the role of mitochondria in neurodegeneration. Described here is a protocol for analyzing mitochondrial transport and mitochondrial morphology in forebrain neuron axons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The iPSCs are differentiated into telencephalic glutamatergic neurons using well-established methods. Mitochondria of the neurons are stained with MitoTracker CMXRos, and mitochondrial movement within the axons are captured using a live-cell imaging microscope equipped with an incubator for cell culture. Time-lapse images are analyzed using software with &#34;MultiKymograph&#34;, &#34;Bioformat importer&#34;, and &#34;Macros&#34; plugins. Kymographs of mitochondrial transport are generated, and average mitochondrial velocity in the anterograde and retrograde directions is read from the kymograph. Regarding mitochondrial morphology analysis, mitochondrial length, area, and aspect ratio are obtained using the ImageJ. In summary, this protocol allows characterization of mitochondrial trafficking along axons and analysis of their morphology to facilitate studies of neurodegenerative diseases.

Impaired mitochondrial transport and morphology are involved in various neurodegenerative diseases. The presented protocol uses induced pluripotent stem cell-derived forebrain neurons to assess mitochondrial transport and morphology in hereditary spastic paraplegia. This protocol allows characterization of mitochondrial trafficking along axons and analysis of their morphology, which will facilitate the study of neurodegenerative disease.

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 for studying blood-brain barrier (BBB) function. This modified protocol provides detailed steps to derive, expand, and cryopreserve BMECs from human iPSCs using a different donor and reagents than those reported in previous protocols. iPSCs are treated with essential 6 medium for 4 days, followed by 2 days of human endothelial serum-free culture medium supplemented with basic fibroblast growth factor, retinoic acid, and B27 supplement. At day 6, cells are sub-cultured onto a collagen/fibronectin matrix for 2 days. Immunocytochemistry is performed at day 8 for BMEC marker analysis using CLDN5, OCLN, TJP1, PECAM1, and SLC2A1. Western blotting is performed to confirm BMEC marker expression, and absence of SOX17, an endodermal marker. Angiogenic potential is demonstrated with a sprouting assay. Trans-endothelial electrical resistance (TEER) is measured using chopstick electrodes and voltohmmeter starting at day 7. Efflux transporter activity for ATP binding cassette subfamily B member 1 and ATP binding cassette subfamily C member 1 is measured using a multi-plate reader at day 8. Successful derivation of BMECs is confirmed by the presence of relevant cell markers, low levels of SOX17, angiogenic potential, transporter activity, and TEER values ~2000 &#937; x cm2. BMECs are expanded until day 10 before passaging onto freshly coated collagen/fibronectin plates or cryopreserved. This protocol demonstrates that iPSC-derived BMECs can be expanded and passaged at least once. However, lower TEER values and poorer localization of BMEC markers was observed after cryopreservation. BMECs can be utilized in co-culture experiments with other cell types (neurons, glia, pericytes), in three-dimensional brain models (organ-chip and hydrogel), for vascularization of brain organoids, and for studying BBB dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders.

This protocol details an adapted method to derive, expand, and cryopreserve brain microvascular endothelial cells obtained by differentiating human induced pluripotent stem cells, and to study blood brain barrier properties in an ex vivo model.

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 contributes to disease development and progression, particularly in the gray matter of the brain, remains largely unknown. The dysfunction of oligodendrocyte lineage cells is hallmarked by deficiencies in myelination and impaired self-renewal of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs). These two defects are caused at least in part by the disruption of interactions between neuron and oligodendrocytes along the buildup of pathology. OPCs give rise to myelinating oligodendrocytes during CNS development. In the mature brain cortex, OPCs are the major proliferative cells (comprising ~5% of total brain cells) and control new myelin formation in a neural activity-dependent manner. Such neuron-to-oligodendrocyte communications are significantly understudied, especially in the context of neurodegenerative conditions such as AD, due to the lack of appropriate tools. In recent years, our group and others have made significant progress to improve currently available protocols to generate functional neurons and oligodendrocytes individually from human pluripotent stem cells. In this manuscript, we describe our optimized procedures, including the establishment of a co-culture system to model the neuron-oligodendrocyte connections. Our illustrative results suggest an unexpected contribution from OPCs/oligodendrocytes to the brain amyloidosis and synapse integrity and highlight the utility of this methodology for AD research. This reductionist approach is a powerful tool to dissect the specific hetero-cellular interactions out of the inherent complexity inside the brain. The protocols we describe here are expected to facilitate future studies on oligodendroglial defects in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration.

The neuron-glial interactions in neurodegeneration are not well understood due to inadequate tools and methods. Here, we describe optimized protocols to obtain induced neurons, oligodendrocyte precursor cells, and oligodendrocytes from human pluripotent stem cells and provide examples of the values of these methods in understanding cell-type-specific contributions in Alzheimer&#8217;s disease.

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