title: Neuronal medium that supports basic synaptic functions and activity of human neurons in vitro.
abstract: Human cell reprogramming technologies offer access to live human neurons from patients and provide a new alternative for modeling neurological disorders in vitro. Neural electrical activity is the essence of nervous system function in vivo. Therefore, we examined neuronal activity in media widely used to culture neurons. We found that classic basal media, as well as serum, impair action potential generation and synaptic communication. To overcome this problem, we designed a new neuronal medium (BrainPhys basal + serum-free supplements) in which we adjusted the concentrations of inorganic salts, neuroactive amino acids, and energetic substrates. We then tested that this medium adequately supports neuronal activity and survival of human neurons in culture. Long-term exposure to this physiological medium also improved the proportion of neurons that were synaptically active. The medium was designed to culture human neurons but also proved adequate for rodent neurons. The improvement in BrainPhys basal medium to support neurophysiological activity is an important step toward reducing the gap between brain physiological conditions in vivo and neuronal models in vitro.
authors: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037; cbardy@salk.edu gage@salk.edu.
authors: Cedric
authors: C
authors: Bardy
authors: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037; Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Division of Translational Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands;
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: van den Hurk
authors: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037;
authors: Tameji
authors: T
authors: Eames
authors: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037; School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; and.
authors: Cynthia
authors: C
authors: Marchand
authors: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037;
authors: Ruben V
authors: RV
authors: Hernandez
authors: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037;
authors: Mariko
authors: M
authors: Kellogg
authors: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037;
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Gorris
authors: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037;
authors: Ben
authors: B
authors: Galet
authors: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037;
authors: Vanessa
authors: V
authors: Palomares
authors: Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037.
authors: Joshua
authors: J
authors: Brown
authors: Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037.
authors: Anne G
authors: AG
authors: Bang
authors: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037;
authors: Jerome
authors: J
authors: Mertens
authors: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037;
authors: Lena
authors: L
authors: Böhnke
authors: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037;
authors: Leah
authors: L
authors: Boyer
authors: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037;
authors: Suzanne
authors: S
authors: Simon
authors: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92037; cbardy@salk.edu gage@salk.edu.
authors: Fred H
authors: FH
authors: Gage
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media
keywords: BrainPhys; induced pluripotent stem cells; neurobasal DMEM; neuromedium; tissue culture milieu