Issue 11, 2015

Differentiation of neuroepithelial stem cells into functional dopaminergic neurons in 3D microfluidic cell culture

Abstract

A hallmark of Parkinson's disease is the progressive loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. We derived human neuroepithelial cells from induced pluripotent stem cells and successfully differentiated them into dopaminergic neurons within phase-guided, three-dimensional microfluidic cell culture bioreactors. After 30 days of differentiation within the microfluidic bioreactors, in situ morphological, immunocytochemical and calcium imaging confirmed the presence of dopaminergic neurons that were spontaneously electrophysiologically active, a characteristic feature of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in vivo. Differentiation was as efficient as in macroscopic culture, with up to 19% of differentiated neurons immunoreactive for tyrosine hydroxylase, the penultimate enzyme in the synthesis of dopamine. This new microfluidic cell culture model integrates the latest innovations in developmental biology and microfluidic cell culture to generate a biologically realistic and economically efficient route to personalised drug discovery for Parkinson's disease.

Graphical abstract: Differentiation of neuroepithelial stem cells into functional dopaminergic neurons in 3D microfluidic cell culture

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
12 Feb 2015
Accepted
30 Mar 2015
First published
30 Mar 2015

Lab Chip, 2015,15, 2419-2428

Differentiation of neuroepithelial stem cells into functional dopaminergic neurons in 3D microfluidic cell culture

E. L. Moreno, S. Hachi, K. Hemmer, S. J. Trietsch, A. S. Baumuratov, T. Hankemeier, P. Vulto, J. C. Schwamborn and R. M. T. Fleming, Lab Chip, 2015, 15, 2419 DOI: 10.1039/C5LC00180C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements