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Silva TP, Bekman EP, Fernandes TG, Vaz SH, Rodrigues CAV, Diogo MM, Cabral JMS, Carmo-Fonseca M. Maturation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cerebellar Neurons in the Absence of Co-culture. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:70. [PMID: 32117945 PMCID: PMC7033648 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The cerebellum plays a critical role in all vertebrates, and many neurological disorders are associated with cerebellum dysfunction. A major limitation in cerebellar research has been the lack of adequate disease models. As an alternative to animal models, cerebellar neurons differentiated from pluripotent stem cells have been used. However, previous studies only produced limited amounts of Purkinje cells. Moreover, in vitro generation of Purkinje cells required co-culture systems, which may introduce unknown components to the system. Here we describe a novel differentiation strategy that uses defined medium to generate Purkinje cells, granule cells, interneurons, and deep cerebellar nuclei projection neurons, that self-formed and differentiated into electrically active cells. Using a defined basal medium optimized for neuronal cell culture, we successfully promoted the differentiation of cerebellar precursors without the need for co-culturing. We anticipate that our findings may help developing better models for the study of cerebellar dysfunctions, while providing an advance toward the development of autologous replacement strategies for treating cerebellar degenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa P Silva
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Department of Bioengineering and Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Evguenia P Bekman
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Department of Bioengineering and Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,The Discoveries Centre for Regenerative and Precision Medicine, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Tiago G Fernandes
- Department of Bioengineering and Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Sandra H Vaz
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Instituto de Farmacologia e Neurociências, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Carlos A V Rodrigues
- Department of Bioengineering and Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Maria Margarida Diogo
- Department of Bioengineering and Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Joaquim M S Cabral
- Department of Bioengineering and Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Maria Carmo-Fonseca
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
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Armstrong RC, Aja TJ, Hoang KD, Gaur S, Bai X, Alnemri ES, Litwack G, Karanewsky DS, Fritz LC, Tomaselli KJ. Activation of the CED3/ICE-related protease CPP32 in cerebellar granule neurons undergoing apoptosis but not necrosis. J Neurosci 1997; 17:553-62. [PMID: 8987778 PMCID: PMC6573236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/1996] [Revised: 10/17/1996] [Accepted: 10/23/1996] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuronal apoptosis occurs during nervous system development and after pathological insults to the adult nervous system. Inhibition of CED3/ICE-related proteases has been shown to inhibit neuronal apoptosis in vitro and in vivo, indicating a role for these cysteine proteases in neuronal apoptosis. We have studied the activation of the CED3/ICE-related protease CPP32 in two in vitro models of mouse cerebellar granule neuronal cell death: K+/serum deprivation-induced apoptosis and glutamate-induced necrosis. Pretreatment of granule neurons with a selective, irreversible inhibitor of CED3/ICE family proteases, ZVAD-fluoromethylketone, specifically inhibited granule neuron apoptosis but not necrosis, indicating a selective role for CED3/ICE proteases in granule neuron apoptosis. Extracts prepared from apoptotic, but not necrotic, granule neurons contained a protease activity that cleaved the CPP32 substrate Ac-DEVD-aminomethylcoumarin. Induction of the protease activity was prevented by inhibitors of RNA or protein synthesis or by the CED3/ICE protease inhibitor. Affinity labeling of the protease activity with an irreversible CED3/ICE protease inhibitor, ZVK(biotin)D-fluoromethylketone, identified two putative protease subunits, p20 and p18, that were present in apoptotic but not necrotic granule neuron extracts. Western blotting with antibodies to the C terminus of the large subunit of mouse CPP32 (anti-CPP32) identified p20 and p18 as processed subunits of the CPP32 proenzyme. Anti-CPP32 specifically inhibited the DEVD-amc cleaving activity, verifying the presence of active CPP32 protease in the apoptotic granule neuron extracts. Western blotting demonstrated that the CPP32 proenzyme was expressed in granule neurons before induction of apoptosis. These results demonstrate that the CED3/ICE homolog CPP32 is processed and activated during cerebellar granule neuron apoptosis. CPP32 activation requires macromolecular synthesis and CED3/ICE protease activity. The lack of CPP32 activation during granule neuron necrosis suggests that proteolytic processing and activation of CED3/ICE proteases are specific biochemical markers of apoptosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- R C Armstrong
- IDUN Pharmaceuticals, Inc., La Jolla, California 92037, USA
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