title: Lithium chloride improves the efficiency of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurospheres.
abstract: Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurospheres, which consist mainly of neural progenitors, are considered to be a good source of neural cells for transplantation in regenerative medicine. In this study, we have used lithium chloride, which is known to be a neuroprotective agent, in an iPSC-derived neurosphere model, and examined both the formation rate and size of the neurospheres as well as the proliferative and apoptotic status of their contents. Our results showed that lithium enhanced the formation and the sizes of the iPSC-derived neurospheres, increased the number of Ki67-positive proliferating cells, but reduced the number of the TUNEL-positive apoptotic cells. This increased number of Ki67 proliferating cells was secondary to the decreased apoptosis and not to the stimulation of cell cycle entry, as the expression of the proliferation marker cyclin D1 mRNA did not change after lithium treatment. Altogether, we suggest that lithium enhances the survival of neural progenitors and thus the quality of the iPSC-derived neurospheres, which may strengthen the prospect of using lithium-treated pluripotent cells and their derivatives in a clinical setting.
authors.forename: Azita Parvaneh
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Tafreshi
authors.forename: Aude
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sylvain
authors.forename: Guizhi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Daniella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Herszfeld
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schulze
authors.forename: Claude C A
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Bernard
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019938:Cyclin D1 / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects*; D018021:Lithium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D019938:Cyclin D1; D018021:Lithium Chloride