This work was supported by a grant from the NIH (1R35GM133496-01) to Z. Gao. We would like to thank Dr. Ryan Hobbs for the assistance in sectioning. We thank&#160;Penn State College of Medicine&#39;s core facilities, including the Genome Sciences and Bioinformatics, the Advanced Light&#160;Microscopy Imaging, and the Flow Cytometry. We also thank Dr.&#160;Yuka Imamura&#160;for the assistance in RNA-seq analysis.&#160;

1. mESC culture
<ol>
	<li>Coat a 10 cm tissue-culture-treated plate with 0.1% gelatin and allow the gelatin to set for at least 15&#8211;30 min before aspirating it out.</li>
	<li>Seed &#947;-irradiated mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) one day before culturing the mESCs in the pre-warmed mESC medium (Dulbecco&#8217;s modified Eagle medium (DMEM) with 15% fetal bovine serum (FBS), non-essential amino acids, &#946;-mercaptoethanol, L-glutamine, penicillin/streptomycin, sodium pyruvate, LIF, PD0325901 (PD), and Chir99021 (CH)).</li>
	<li>Allow the &#947;-irradiated MEFs to settle and attach to the plate surface before culturing E14 cells.</li>
	<li>Thaw E14 ESCs in 37 &#176;C water bath and quickly transfer the cells in a 15 cm conical tube with warm mESC medium. Pellet the cells at 200 x g for 3 min and remove the supernatant.</li>
	<li>Resuspend the cells in 10 mL of mESC medium and plate the cells on the culture plate containing the &#947;-irradiated MEFs seeded earlier. Incubate the cell culture in a 37 &#176;C incubator under 5% CO2.</li>
	<li>For culture passaging, aspirate e the medium and wash the plate with sterile 1x PBS. Add enough 0.05% trypsin to cover the plate surface and incubate at 37 &#176;C for 3 min.</li>
	<li>Neutralize the trypsin with mESC medium and pipette to generate single-cell suspension. Centrifuge the cells at 200 x g for 3 min and remove the supernatant.</li>
	<li>Count the cells with a hemocytometer or cell counter and seed about 5.0 x 105 cells in a 10 cm culture plate.</li>
	<li>Resuspend the cells in 10 mL of mESC medium, plate the cells on the gelatin-coated tissue culture plate and incubate cultures as described earlier. 
	NOTE: It is recommended that mESCs be passaged every 2 days to prevent the cells from differentiating in their colonies. Phenol red in the medium functions solely as a pH indicator and depending on the cellular density, it can turn yellowish (more acidic), sooner than 2 days. Hence, it may be necessary to change the medium every day. The &#947;-irradiated MEFs will eventually die off after a couple of passages.</li>
</ol>
2. EB, NPC, and neuron differentiation
<ol>
	<li>Perform culture passaging protocol mentioned earlier and count the cells (steps 1.7&#8211;1.10).</li>
	<li>Hanging drop method (day 0)
	<ol>
		<li>For a 10 cm cell culture plate, count roughly 2.5 x 104 cells where 5.0 x 102 cells will be suspended in 20 &#181;L differentiation medium (DMEM with 15% FBS, non-essential amino acids, &#946;-mercaptoethanol, L-glutamine, penicillin/streptomycin, and sodium pyruvate). Roughly fifty 20 &#181;L droplets containing the cells can be plated on one 10 cm plate.</li>
		<li>Aliquot the appropriate number of cells, and then centrifuge the cells at 200 x g for 3 min and remove the supernatant.</li>
		<li>Resuspend the cells in the appropriate volume of differentiation medium for a cell density of 5.0 x 102 cells per 20 &#181;L (e.g., 2.5 x 104 cells in 1 mL of differentiation medium).</li>
		<li>Using a micropipette or a repeater pipette, place 20 &#181;L droplets of the cell suspension onto the lid of the tissue culture plate. Make sure that the droplets are not too close to one another to prevent them from merging. 
		NOTE: The droplets can be plated on either a tissue-culture-treated attachment plate or suspension plate as they will be placed on the lid and not the plate itself. For a more feasible and sterile approach, plate the droplets on an attachment tissue-culture plate and transfer them to a suspension plate as described below.</li>
		<li>Fill up the plate with 5&#8211;10 mL of 1x PBS and carefully put the lid back on the plate. Incubate the culture in the 37 &#176;C incubator. 
		NOTE: PBS is added to the culture plate to prevent the droplets from drying up.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>On day 2, use a micropipette to collect the droplets from the lid and place them in a 10 cm cell culture suspension plate filled with 10 mL of differentiation medium. Incubate the culture on an orbital shaker shaking at low speed in the incubator.</li>
	<li>On day 4, to harvest the EBs, collect the cells, centrifuge at 200 x g for 3 min, and remove the supernatant. 
	NOTE: The EBs can also be washed with 1x PBS as per the requirements of subsequent experiments.</li>
	<li>To continue the procedure and induce the EB differentiation into neural progenitor cells (NPCs), prepare the differentiation medium with 5 &#181;M retinoic acid (RA).</li>
	<li>Remove the old medium by pelleting the EBs at 100 x g for 3 min or allow the EBs to settle before aspirating out the old medium. Add 10 mL of the differentiation medium containing 5 &#181;M RA to the culture plate.</li>
	<li>On day 6, replace at least half of the medium with fresh medium containing 5 &#181;M RA by tilting the plate and pipetting out the medium as described above. 
	NOTE: It is recommended that at least half of the medium be replaced with fresh RA-containing medium on days 5 and 7. Take note of the phenol red indicator; if it turns yellowish, it is best to replace all of the medium.</li>
	<li>On day 8, harvest the NPCs by collecting the cells, centrifuging at 200 x g for 3 min, and removing the supernatant. 
	NOTE: The NPCs can also be washed with 1x PBS according to the needs of subsequent experiments. If needed, NPCs can be frozen down and thawed again for later culture and analysis. If the NPCs are to be cultured, accutase can also be used as an alternative to trypsin.</li>
	<li>To continue the procedure and to differentiate NPCs into neurons, collect NPCs in a 15 mL conical tube by centrifugation, dissociate them with trypsin and incubate them at 37 &#176;C for 3 min. Pipette the NPCs to ensure that all NPC aggregates are dissociated and neutralize the trypsin with the medium.</li>
	<li>Filter the cells with 40 &#956;m nylon cell strainer and count the cells before plating them at a density of 1.5 x 105/cm2 in N2 medium (DMEM/F12 medium + 3 mg/mL glucose + 3 mg/mL lipid-rich bovine serum albumin (LBSA) + 1:100 N2 supplement + 10 ng/mL bFGF + 50 U/mL pen/strep + 1 mM L-glutamine) on a tissue-culture-treated plate for subsequent PCR and western blot experiments; or on a tissue culture chamber for immunofluorescence experiments.</li>
	<li>On day 9, replace the old medium with a fresh N2 medium.</li>
	<li>On day 10, switch the N2 medium with N2/B27 medium (50% DMEM/F12 and 50% neural basal, 3 mg/mL LBA, 1:200 N2 supplement, 1:100 B27 supplement, 50 U/mL pen/strep, and 1 mM L-glutamine).</li>
	<li>On days 11&#8211;12, harvest the neurons as follows. Wash the cells with 1x PBS, add trypsin, and incubate the culture in the 37 &#176;C incubator for 3 min before neutralizing the trypsin with medium and centrifuge at 200 x g for 3 min.</li>
</ol>
3. Characterization of mESCs and differentiated cells
<ol>
	<li>Alkaline phosphatase (AP) assay 
	<ol>
		<li>Use a kit to assess alkaline phosphatase activity (see the Table of Materials).</li>
		<li>Remove the medium from the culture plate and wash the ESCs with 1x PBS.</li>
		<li>Add 1 mL of the fix solution (consists of formaldehyde and methanol) provided with the kit to the plate and incubate it at room temperature for 2&#8211;5 min. 
		NOTE: Over-incubation in the fix solution can compromise the AP activity.</li>
		<li>Remove the fix solution, wash the ESCs with 1x PBS and leave some amount of PBS in the plate. 
		NOTE: Keep the ESCs moist in PBS to not compromise the AP activity.</li>
		<li>Prepare the AP solution by mixing the A, B, and C substrate solutions at 1:1:1 ratio. Mix A and B solutions first and incubate the mixture at room temperature for 2 min before adding the C solution.</li>
		<li>Remove the 1x PBS and add the AP solution prepared earlier.</li>
		<li>Incubate the ESCs for about 15 min in the dark by wrapping the culture plate with aluminum foil or performing step 3.5 in a dark room.</li>
		<li>Monitor the reaction and remove the reaction solution when the solution turns bright to avoid non-specific staining.</li>
		<li>Wash the ESCs twice with 1x PBS.</li>
		<li>Prevent the sample from drying by covering the ESCs with 1x PBS or mounting medium. 
		NOTE: A red or purple stain will appear for AP expression. The plate can be stored in a 4 &#176;C refrigerator.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>RT-qPCR 
	<ol>
		<li>Collect cells at various stages by following steps 1.6&#8211;1.7 and 2.4 for ESCs and EBs and NPCs, respectively.</li>
		<li>Isolate RNA using RNA, DNA, and protein extraction solution (see Table of Materials).</li>
		<li>Generate cDNA with a reverse transcriptase kit (see the Table of Materials) and follow the manufacturer&#8217;s manual.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Fixation and embedding 
	<ol>
		<li>Harvest EBs and NPCs as described above (step 2.6) and fix them with 4% paraformaldehyde (PFA) solution in 1x PBS for 30 min at room temperature.</li>
		<li>Remove the PFA and wash the sample with 1x PBS for 5 min.</li>
		<li>Place the sample in a serial dilution of 1x PBS, 10%-, 20%-, and 30%-sucrose solutions at 25&#8210;28 &#176;C where the sample is transferred to the next solution after 30 min of incubation. 
		NOTE: The sample can be stored in the 30% sucrose solution at 4 &#176;C before continuing with the embedding step.</li>
		<li>Wet the pipette tip with sucrose solution before placing the sample (without stacking them) at the center of the cryo-mold and pipette out the excess liquid. 
		NOTE: Filter paper can also be used to remove the excess solution. Wetting the pipette tip with sucrose solution is important to prevent the EBs and NPCs from sticking to the walls of the tip.</li>
		<li>Carefully add optimum cutting temperature (OCT) solution to the mold without resuspending the samples and remove excess bubbles with a pipette.</li>
		<li>Place the mold with the sample on a laboratory mixer at low speed to mildly agitate the sample for 15 min. This helps to settle the EBs and NPCs to the bottom if they are resuspended in the OCT solution.</li>
		<li>Quickly freeze the sample by placing the mold in liquid nitrogen or on dry ice. 
		NOTE: Samples can be stored in a -70 &#176;C freezer before continuing to the next step.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Cryosectioning 
	<ol>
		<li>Set the cryostat to cool down to -20 to -18 &#176;C before transferring the sample to the instrument.</li>
		<li>Detach the frozen OCT block from the mold and secure it on the holder with a little OCT solution placed on&#160;the surface of the holder.</li>
		<li>Align the OCT block so that the EBs and NPCs are closest to the blade to ensure that the sample is not lost during sectioning.</li>
		<li>Carefully section 10 &#956;m of the block and pay close attention to the slices that contain the sample.</li>
		<li>Quickly place the OCT slice containing the sample onto the tissue-embedding glass slide and allow the OCT slices to air-dry for 1 h at room temperature. 
		NOTE: The samples can be stored at -70 &#176;C for later use.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Immunofluorescence (IF) 
	<ol>
		<li>Block OCT sections or culture chambers containing neurons in 10% normal donkey serum/0.1% Triton X-100 in 1x PBS for 1 h at room temperature.</li>
		<li>Incubate the samples in primary antibody diluted in 5% normal donkey serum/0.05% Triton X-100 in 1x PBS overnight at 4 &#176;C.</li>
		<li>Wash samples in 1x PBS/0.1% Triton X-100 thrice for 5 min each wash.</li>
		<li>Incubate the samples with secondary antibody diluted in 5% normal donkey serum/0.05% Triton X-100 in 1x PBS for 1 h at room temperature.</li>
		<li>Wash samples in 1x PBS/0.1% Triton X-100 thrice for 5 min each wash then incubate the samples in 1 &#956;g/mL DAPI.</li>
		<li>Mount the samples with a coverslip and some mounting medium and allow it to dry.</li>
		<li>Observe the samples under a fluorescence microscope.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>RNA-seq analysis 
	<ol>
		<li>Collect the cells at various stages and perform RNA extraction (see step 3.2).</li>
		<li>Prepare the cDNA libraries, perform deep sequencing and data analysis according to the protocol described in Wang et al.8.</li>
		<li>Perform the Gene Ontology (GO) analysis using the R package, clusterProfiler.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Flow cytometry 
	<ol>
		<li>Collect ESCs by following the steps 1.6&#8211;1.7 and resuspend the cells in medium. Collect the EBs and NPCs by following step 2.4 and resuspend the cells in medium.</li>
		<li>Filter the cell suspension using the 40 &#956;m nylon cell strainer into a new 15 mL conical tube.</li>
		<li>Measure the GFP signal of the samples using the flow cytometer (performed by the institution&#8217;s core facility).</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>

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Authors declare that there are no competing financial interests.

The method for neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells has been established for decades and researchers have continued to modify the previous protocols or create new ones for various purposes7,10,11. We utilized a series of assays to comprehensively analyze the efficiency and progress of the differentiation stages of mESCs to neurons, which may be used in analysis of other lineage differentiation of mouse or human E...

Since their first derivation from the inner cell mass of the developing mouse blastocysts1,2, mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC) have been used as powerful tools to study stem cell self-renewal and differentiation3. Furthermore, studying mESC differentiation leads to tremendous understanding of molecular mechanisms that may improve efficiency and safety in stem cell-based therapy in treating diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders4. Compared to animal models, this in vitro system provides many advantages including simplicity in practice and assessment, low cost in maintaining cell lines in contrast to animals, and relative ease in genetic manipulations. However, the efficiency and quality of differentiated cell types are often affected by different lines of mESCs as well as the differentiation methods5,6. Also, the traditional assays to evaluate differentiation efficiency rely on qualitative examination of selected marker genes which lack robustness and they therefore fail to grasp global changes in gene expression.
Here we aim to use a battery of assays for systematic assessment of the neuronal differentiation. Using both traditional in vitro analyses on selected markers and RNA-seq, we establish a platform for measurement of the differentiation efficiency as well as the transcriptomic changes during this process. Based on a previously established protocol7, we generated embryoid bodies (EBs) through the hanging drop technique, followed by induction using supraphysiologic amount of retinoic acid (RA) to generate neural progenitor cells (NPCs), which were subsequently differentiated to neurons with neural induction medium. To examine the efficiency of the differentiation, in addition to traditional RT-qPCR and immunofluorescence (IF) assays, we performed RNA-seq and flow cytometry. These analyses provide comprehensive measurement of the progression of the stage-specific differentiation.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:805px;" width="804">
	<colgroup>
		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
	</colgroup>
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">0.05% Trypsin + 0.53mM EDTA 1X</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Corning</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">25-052-CV</td>
			<td style="width:255px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">0.1% Gelatin</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">G1890-100G</td>
			<td>Prepared in de-ionized water</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">16% Paraformaldehyde</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">28908</td>
			<td>Diluted in 1X PBS</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">40-&#956;m cell strainer</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Falcon</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">352340</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:276px;">Albumax</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">11020021</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:276px;">AlexaFluor 488 goat anti-mouse IgG (H+L)</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Invitrogen</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">A11001</td>
			<td>Antibody was diluted at 1:500 for IF</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">Alkaline Phosphatase Staining Kit II</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Stemgent</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">00-0055</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">AzuraQuant Green Fast qPCR Mix LoRox</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Azura Genomics</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">AZ-2105</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:276px;">B27 supplement</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">17504044</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">BD FACSCanto</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">BD</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">657338</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">bFGF</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">11123149001</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">BioAnalyzer High Sensitivity DNA Kit</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Agilent</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">5067-4626</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">Chir99021</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Cayman Chemicals</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">13122</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">Chloroform</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">C298-500</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">Fisher Chemical</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">DAPI</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Invitrogen</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">R37606</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">DMEM</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Corning</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">10-017-CM</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:276px;">DMEM/F12 medium</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">11320033</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">EB buffer</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Qiagen</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">19086</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">Ethanol</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">111000200</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">Pharmco</td>
			<td>Diluted in de-ionized water</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">Fetal bovine serum</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Atlanta Biologicals</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">S10250</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:276px;">Fisherbrand Superfrost Plus Microscope Slides</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">12-550-15</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">HiSeq 2500 Sequencing System</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Illumina</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">SY-401-2501</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:276px;">Isopropanol</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">BDH1133-4LG</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">BDH VWR Analytical</td>
			<td>Diluted in de-ionized water</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:276px;">L-glutamine</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">25030024</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">LIF</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">N/A</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">N/A</td>
			<td>Collected from MEF supernatant</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;">m18srRNA primers</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">IDTDNA</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">N/A</td>
			<td style="width:255px;">5&#39;-GCAATTATTCCCCATGAACG-3&#39; 
			5&#39;-GGCCTCACTAAACCATCCAA-3&#39;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">MEM Non-essential amino acids</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Corning</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">25-025-Cl</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;">mNanog primers</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">IDTDNA</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">N/A</td>
			<td style="width:255px;">5&#39;-AGGCTTTGGAGACAGTGAGGTG-3&#39; 
			5&#39;-TGGGTAAGGGTGTTCAAGCACT-3&#39;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="84">
			<td height="84" style="height:84px;">mNes primers</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">IDTDNA</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">N/A</td>
			<td style="width:255px;">5&#39;-AGTGCCCAGTTCTAGTGGTGTCC-3&#39; 
			5&#39;-CCTCTAAAATAGAGTGGTGAGGGTTG-3&#39;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="63">
			<td height="63" style="height:63px;">mNeuroD1 primers</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">IDTDNA</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">N/A</td>
			<td style="width:255px;">5&#39;-CGAGTCATGAGTGCCCAGCTTA-3&#39; 
			5&#39;-CCGGGAATAGTGAAACTGACGTG-3&#39;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;">mOct4 primers</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">IDTDNA</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">N/A</td>
			<td style="width:255px;">5&#39;-AGATCACTCACATCGCCAATCA-3&#39; 
			5&#39;-CGCCGGTTACAGAACCATACTC-3&#39;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;">mPax6 primers</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">IDTDNA</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">N/A</td>
			<td style="width:255px;">5&#39;-CTTGGGAAATCCGAGACAGA-3&#39; 
			5&#39;-CTAGCCAGGTTGCGAAGAAC-3&#39;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:276px;">N2 supplement</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">17502048</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">Nestin primary antibody</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Millipore</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">MAB5326</td>
			<td>Antibody was diluted at 1:200 for IF</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:276px;">Neural basal</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">21103049</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">Neurofilament primary antibody</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">DSHB</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">2H3</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:276px;">NEXTflex Illumina Rapid Directional RNA-Seq Library Prep Kit</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">BioO Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">NOVA-5138-07</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">PD0325901</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Cayman Chemicals</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">13034</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">Penicillin/streptomycin</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Corning</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">30-002-Cl</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">Phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">N/A</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">N/A</td>
			<td>Prepared in de-ionized water</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">- Potassium chloride</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">P217-500G</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">VWR</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:276px;">- Potassium phosphate monobasic anhydrous</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">0781-500G</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">VWR</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:276px;">- Sodium chloride</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">BP358-10</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">Fisher Bioreagents</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:276px;">- Sodium phosphate, dibasic, heptahydrate</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">SX0715-1</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">Milipore</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">Random hexamer primer</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">SO142</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">Retinoic acid</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">R2625</td>
			<td>Prepared in DMSO</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">Sodium pyruvate</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Corning</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">25-000-Cl</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">Sucrose</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">84097</td>
			<td>Diluted in 1X PBS</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">SuperScript III Reverse Transcriptase</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Invitrogen</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">18064022</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">Tissue-Tek O.C.T. compound</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Sakura</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">4583</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">TriPure Isolation Reagent</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">11667165001</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">TruSeq Rapid</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Illumina</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">20020616</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:276px;">&#946;-mercaptoethanol</td>
			<td style="width:148px;">Fisher BioReagents</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">BP176-100</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

differentiation and characterization of neural progenitors and neurons from mouse embryonic stem cells

We describe the step-by-step procedure for culturing and differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells into neuronal lineages, followed by a series of assays to characterize the differentiated cells. The E14 mouse embryonic stem cells were used to form embryoid bodies through the hanging drop method, and then induced to differentiate into neural progenitor cells by retinoic acid, and finally differentiated into neurons. Quantitative&#160;reverse transcription&#160;polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunofluorescence experiments revealed that the neural progenitors and neurons exhibit corresponding markers (nestin for neural progenitors and neurofilament for neurons) at day 8 and 12 post-differentiation, respectively. Flow cytometry experiments on an E14 line expressing a Sox1 promoter-driven GFP reporter showed that about 60% of cells at day 8 are GFP positive, indicating the successful differentiation of neural progenitor cells at this stage. Finally, RNA-seq analysis was used to profile the global transcriptomic changes. These methods are useful for analyzing the involvement of specific genes and pathways in regulating the cell identity transition during neuronal differentiation.

As a representation of our method, we performed an EB, NPC, and neuron differentiation experiment on E14 cells. E14 cells were cultured on &#947;-irradiated MEFs (Figure 1A) until the &#947;-irradiated MEF population diluted out. We confirmed the pluripotency of the E14 cells by performing Alkaline Phosphatase (AP) staining (Figure 1B) and later RT-qPCR (see below) for Nanog and Oct4 markers. The &#947;-irradiated MEF-free E14 cells were then i...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Differentiation and Characterization of Neural Progenitors and Neurons from Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells at JoVE.com

Differentiation and Characterization of Neural Progenitors and Neurons from Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

We describe the procedure for the in vitro differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells into neuronal cells using the hanging drop method. Furthermore, we perform a comprehensive phenotypic analysis through RT-qPCR, immunofluorescence, RNA-seq, and flow cytometry.

We describe the step-by-step procedure for culturing and differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells into neuronal lineages, followed by a series of assays ...

differentiation-characterization-neural-progenitors-neurons-from

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Developmental Biology

4.7K Views.  Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute. We describe the procedure for the in vitro differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells into neuronal cells using the hanging drop method. Furthermore, we perform a comprehensive phenotypic analysis through RT-qPCR, immunofluorescence, RNA-seq, and flow cytometry.

Video: Differentiation and Characterization of Neural Progenitors and Neurons from Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Neural Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells in Serum-free Monolayer Culture

The ability to differentiate mouse embryonic stem cells (ESC) to neural progenitors allows the study of the mechanisms controlling neural specification as well as the generation of mature neural cell types for further study. In this protocol we describe a method for the differentiation of ESC to neural progenitors using serum-free, monolayer culture. The method is scalable, efficient and results in production of ~70% neural progenitor cells within 4 - 6 days. It can be applied to ESC from various strains grown under a variety of conditions. Neural progenitors can be allowed to differentiate further into functional neurons and glia or analyzed by microscopy, flow cytometry or molecular techniques. The differentiation process is amenable to time-lapse microscopy and can be combined with the use of reporter lines to monitor the neural specification process. We provide detailed instructions on media preparation and cell density optimization to allow the process to be applied to most ESC lines and a variety of cell culture vessels.

This protocol describes in detail the method for generating neural progenitors from embryonic stem cells using a serum-free monolayer method. These progenitors can be used to derive mature neural cell types or to study the process of neural specification and is amenable to multiwell format scaling for compound screening.

The ability to differentiate mouse embryonic stem cells (ESC) to neural progenitors allows the study of the mechanisms controlling neural specification as ...

Epigenetic Regulation of Cardiac Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells and Tissues

Specific gene transcription is a key biological process that underlies cell fate decision during embryonic development. The biological process is mediated by transcription factors which bind genomic regulatory regions including enhancers and promoters of cardiac constitutive genes. DNA is wrapped around histones that are subjected to chemical modifications. Modifications of histones further lead to repressed, activated or poised gene transcription, thus bringing another level of fine tuning regulation of gene transcription. Embryonic Stem cells (ES cells) recapitulate within embryoid bodies (i.e., cell aggregates) or in 2D culture the early steps of cardiac development. They provide in principle enough material for chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), a technology broadly used to identify gene regulatory regions. Furthermore, human ES cells represent a human cell model of cardiogenesis. At later stages of development, mouse embryonic tissues allow for investigating specific epigenetic landscapes required for determination of cell identity. Herein, we describe protocols of ChIP, sequential ChIP followed by PCR or ChIP-sequencing using ES cells, embryoid bodies and cardiac specific embryonic regions. These protocols allow to investigating the epigenetic regulation of cardiac gene transcription.

A fine tuning regulation of gene transcription underlies embryonic cell fate decision. Herein, we describe chromatin immunoprecipitation assays used to investigate epigenetic regulation of both cardiac differentiation of stem cells and cardiac development of mouse embryos.

Specific gene transcription is a key biological process that underlies cell fate decision during embryonic development. The biological process is mediated ...

Directed Differentiation of Primitive and Definitive Hematopoietic Progenitors from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

One of the major goals for regenerative medicine is the generation and maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). Until recently, efforts to differentiate hPSCs into HSCs have predominantly generated hematopoietic progenitors that lack HSC potential, and instead resemble yolk sac hematopoiesis.&#160;These resulting hematopoietic progenitors may have limited utility for in vitro disease modeling of various adult hematopoietic disorders, particularly those of the lymphoid lineages. However, we have recently described methods to generate erythro-myelo-lymphoid multilineage definitive hematopoietic progenitors from hPSCs using a stage-specific directed differentiation protocol, which we outline here. Through enzymatic dissociation of hPSCs on basement membrane matrix-coated plasticware, embryoid bodies (EBs) are formed. EBs are differentiated to mesoderm by recombinant BMP4, which is subsequently specified to the definitive hematopoietic program by the GSK3&#946; inhibitor, CHIR99021. Alternatively, primitive hematopoiesis is specified by the PORCN inhibitor, IWP2. Hematopoiesis is further driven through the addition of recombinant VEGF and supportive hematopoietic cytokines. The resulting hematopoietic progenitors generated using this method have the potential to be used for disease and developmental modeling, in vitro.

Here, we present human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) culture protocols, used to differentiate hPSCs into CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors. This method uses stage-specific manipulation of canonical WNT signaling to specify cells exclusively to either the definitive or primitive hematopoietic program.

One of the major goals for regenerative medicine is the generation and maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) derived from human pluripotent stem ...

Efficient Differentiation of Pluripotent Stem Cells to NKX6-1+ Pancreatic Progenitors

Pluripotent stem cells have the ability to self renew and differentiate to multiple lineages, making them an attractive source for the generation of pancreatic progenitor cells that can be used for the study of and future treatment of diabetes. This article outlines a four-stage differentiation protocol designed to generate pancreatic progenitor cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). This protocol can be applied to a number of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) lines. The approach taken to generate pancreatic progenitor cells is to differentiate hESCs to accurately model key stages of pancreatic development. This begins with the induction of the definitive endoderm, which is achieved by culturing the cells in the presence of Activin A, basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF) and CHIR990210. Further differentiation and patterning with Fibroblast Growth Factor 10 (FGF10) and Dorsomorphin generates cells resembling the posterior foregut. The addition of Retinoic Acid, NOGGIN, SANT-1 and FGF10 differentiates posterior foregut cells into cells characteristic of pancreatic endoderm. Finally, the combination of Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), Nicotinamide and NOGGIN leads to the efficient generation of PDX1+/NKX6-1+ cells. Flow cytometry is performed to confirm the expression of specific markers at key stages of pancreatic development. The PDX1+/NKX6-1+ pancreatic progenitors at the end of stage 4 are capable of generating mature &#946; cells upon transplantation into immunodeficient mice and can be further differentiated to generate insulin-producing cells in vitro. Thus, the efficient generation of PDX1+/NKX6-1+ pancreatic progenitors, as demonstrated in this protocol, is of great importance as it provides a platform to study human pancreatic development in vitro and provides a source of cells with the potential of differentiating to &#946; cells that could eventually be used for the treatment of diabetes.

Efficient Differentiation of Pluripotent Stem Cells to NKX6-1+ Pancreatic Progenitors

Here we describe a 4-stage protocol to differentiate human embryonic stem cells to NKX6-1+ pancreatic progenitors in vitro. This protocol can be applied to a variety of human pluripotent stem cell lines.

Pluripotent stem cells have the ability to self renew and differentiate to multiple lineages, making them an attractive source for the generation of ...

Analysis of Retinoic Acid-induced Neural Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells in Two and Three-dimensional Embryoid Bodies

Mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) isolated from the inner mass of the blastocyst (typically at day E3.5), can be used as in vitro model system for studying early embryonic development. In the absence of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), ESCs differentiate by default into neural precursor cells. They can be amassed into a three dimensional (3D) spherical aggregate termed embryoid body (EB) due to its similarity to the early stage embryo. EBs can be seeded on fibronectin-coated coverslips, where they expand by growing two dimensional (2D) extensions, or implanted in 3D collagen matrices where they continue growing as spheroids, and differentiate into the three germ layers: endodermal, mesodermal, and ectodermal. The 3D collagen culture mimics the in vivo environment more closely than the 2D EBs. The 2D EB culture facilitates analysis by immunofluorescence and immunoblotting to track differentiation. We have developed a two-step neural differentiation protocol. In the first step, EBs are generated by the hanging-drop technique, and, simultaneously, are induced to differentiate by exposure to retinoic acid (RA). In the second step, neural differentiation proceeds in a 2D or 3D format in the absence of RA.

We describe a technique for using murine embryonic stem cells for generating two or three dimensional embryoid bodies. We then explain how to induce neural differentiation of the embryoid body cells by retinoic acid, and how to analyze their state of differentiation by progenitor cell marker immunofluorescence and immunoblotting.

Mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) isolated from the inner mass of the blastocyst (typically at day E3.5), can be used as in vitro model system for ...

Rapid, Directed Differentiation of Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells from Human Embryonic or Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

We describe a robust method to direct the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE). The purpose of providing a detailed and thorough protocol is to clearly demonstrate each step and to make this readily available to researchers in the field. This protocol results in a homogenous layer of RPE with minimal or no manual dissection needed. The method presented here has been shown to be effective for induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and human embryonic stem cells. Additionally, we describe methods for cryopreservation of intermediate cell banks that allow long-term storage. RPE generated using this protocol might be useful for iPSC disease-in-a-dish modeling or clinical application.

This protocol describes how to produce retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) from pluripotent stem cells. The method uses a combination of growth factors and small molecules to direct the differentiation of stem cells into immature RPE in fourteen days and mature, functional RPE after three months.

We describe a robust method to direct the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE). The purpose of providing ...

Isolation, Culture, and Differentiation of Bone Marrow Stromal Cells and Osteoclast Progenitors from Mice

Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) constitute a cell population routinely used as a representation of mesenchymal stem cells in vitro. They reside within the bone marrow cavity alongside hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which can give rise to red blood cells, immune progenitors, and osteoclasts. Thus, extractions of cell populations from the bone marrow results in a very heterogeneous mix of various cell populations, which can present challenges in experimental design and confound data interpretation. Several isolation and culture techniques have been developed in laboratories in order to obtain more or less homogeneous populations of BMSCs and HSCs invitro. Here, we present two methods for isolation of BMSCs and HSCs from mouse long bones: one method that yields a mixed population of BMSCs and HSCs and one method that attempts to separate the two cell populations based on adherence. Both methods provide cells suitable for osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation experiments as well as functional assays.

In this article, we present methods to isolate and differentiate bone marrow stromal cells and hematopoietic stem cells from mouse long bones. Two different protocols are presented yielding different cell populations suitable for expansion and differentiation into osteoblasts, adipocytes, and osteoclasts.

Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) constitute a cell population routinely used as a representation of mesenchymal stem cells in vitro. They reside within ...

Generation of Induced Neural Stem Cells from Peripheral Mononuclear Cells and Differentiation Toward Dopaminergic Neuron Precursors for Transplantation Studies

Parkinson&#39;s disease (PD) is caused by degeneration of dopaminergic (DA) neurons at the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) in the ventral mesencephalon (VM). Cell replacement therapy holds great promise for treatment of PD. Recently, induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) have emerged as a potential candidate for cell replacement therapy due to the reduced risk of tumor formation and the plasticity to give rise to region-specific neurons and glia. iNSCs can be reprogrammed from autologous somatic cellular sources, such as fibroblasts, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) and various other types of cells. Compared with other types of somatic cells, PBMNCs are an appealing starter cell type because of the ease to access and expand in culture. Sendai virus (SeV), an RNA non-integrative virus, encoding reprogramming factors including human OCT3/4, SOX2, KLF4 and c-MYC, has a negative-sense, single-stranded, non-segmented genome that does not integrate into host genome, but only replicates in the cytoplasm of infected cells, offering an efficient and safe vehicle for reprogramming. In this study, we describe a protocol in which iNSCs are obtained by reprogramming PBMNCs, and differentiated into specialized VM DA neurons by a two-stage method. Then DA precursors are transplanted into unilaterally 6-hyroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned PD mouse models to evaluate the safety and efficacy for treatment of PD. This method provides a platform to investigate the functions and therapeutic effects of patient-specific DA neural cells in vitro and in vivo.

The protocol presents the reprogramming of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to induce neural stem cells by Sendai virus infection, differentiation of iNSCs into dopaminergic neurons, transplantation of DA precursors into the unilaterally-lesioned Parkinson&#39;s disease mouse models, and evaluation of the safety and efficacy of iNSC-derived DA precursors for PD treatment.

Parkinson&#39;s disease (PD) is caused by degeneration of dopaminergic (DA) neurons at the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) in the ventral ...

Efficient Neural Differentiation using Single-Cell Culture of Human Embryonic Stem Cells

In vitro differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) has transformed the ability to study human development on both biological and molecular levels and provided cells for use in regenerative applications. Standard approaches for hESC culture using colony type culture to maintain undifferentiated hESCs and embryoid body (EB) and rosette formation for differentiation into different germ layers are inefficient and time-consuming. Presented here is a single-cell culture method using hESCs instead of a colony-type culture. This method allows maintenance of the characteristic features of undifferentiated hESCs, including expression of hESC markers at levels comparable to colony type hESCs. In addition, the protocol presents an efficient method for neural progenitor cell (NPC) generation from single-cell type hESCs that produces NPCs within 1 week. These cells highly express several NPC marker genes and can differentiate into various neural cell types, including dopaminergic neurons and astrocytes. This single-cell culture system for hESCs will be useful in investigating the molecular mechanisms of these processes, studies of certain diseases, and drug discovery screens.

Presented here is a protocol for the generation of a single-cell culture of human embryonic stem cells and their subsequent differentiation into neural progenitor cells. The protocol is simple, robust, scalable, and suitable for drug screening and regenerative medicine applications.

In vitro differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) has transformed the ability to study human development on both biological and molecular ...

Preparation of Small RNA Libraries for Sequencing from Early Mouse Embryos

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important for the complex regulation of cell fate decisions and developmental timing. In vivo studies of the contribution of miRNAs during early development are technically challenging due to the limiting cell number. Moreover, many approaches require a miRNA of interest to be defined in assays such as northern blotting, microarray, and qPCR. Therefore, the expression of many miRNAs and their isoforms have not been studied during early development. Here, we demonstrate a protocol for small RNA sequencing of sorted cells from early mouse embryos to enable relatively unbiased profiling of miRNAs in early populations of neural crest cells. We overcome the challenges of low cell input and size selection during library preparation using amplification and gel-based purification. We identify embryonic age as a variable accounting for variation between replicates and stage-matched mouse embryos must be used to accurately profile miRNAs in biological replicates. Our results suggest that this method can be broadly applied to profile the expression of miRNAs from other lineages of cells. In summary, this protocol can be used to study how miRNAs regulate developmental programs in different cell lineages of the early mouse embryo.

We describe a technique for profiling microRNAs in early mouse embryos. This protocol overcomes the challenge of low cell input and small RNA enrichment. This assay can be used to analyze changes in miRNA expression over time in different cell lineages of the early mouse embryo.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important for the complex regulation of cell fate decisions and developmental timing. In vivo studies of the contribution of miRNAs ...