title: Highly efficient generation of glutamatergic/cholinergic NT2-derived postmitotic human neurons by short-term treatment with the nucleoside analogue cytosine β-D-arabinofuranoside.
abstract: The human NTERA2/D1 (NT2) cells generate postmitotic neurons (NT2N cells) upon retinoic acid (RA) treatment and are functionally integrated in the host tissue following grafting into the rodent and human brain, thus representing a promising source for neuronal replacement therapy. Yet the major limitations of this model are the lengthy differentiation procedure and its low efficiency, although recent studies suggest that the differentiation process can be shortened to less than 1 week using nucleoside analogues. To explore whether short-term exposure of NT2 cells to the nucleoside analogue cytosine β-d-arabinofuranoside (AraC) could be a suitable method to efficiently generate mature neurons, we conducted a neurochemical and morphometric characterization of AraC-differentiated NT2N (AraC/NT2N) neurons and improved the differentiation efficiency by modifying the cell culture schedule. Moreover, we analyzed the neurotransmitter phenotypes of AraC/NT2N neurons. Cultures obtained by treatment with AraC were highly enriched in postmitotic neurons and essentially composed of dual glutamatergic/cholinergic neurons, which contrasts with the preferential GABAergic phenotype that we found after RA differentiation. Taken together, our results further reinforce the notion NT2 cells are a versatile source of neuronal phenotypes and provide a new encouraging platform for studying mechanisms of neuronal differentiation and for exploring neuronal replacement strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Paseo de la Universidad 7, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz (Araba), Spain. Electronic address: imanol.gonzalezb@ehu.eus.
authors.forename: Imanol
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: González-Burguera
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Paseo de la Universidad 7, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz (Araba), Spain. Electronic address: analourdes.ricobaraza@ehu.eus.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ricobaraza
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Paseo de la Universidad 7, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz (Araba), Spain. Electronic address: xabier.arechabala@ehu.eus.
authors.forename: Xabier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Aretxabala
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Paseo de la Universidad 7, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz (Araba), Spain; CIBERSAM, Spain. Electronic address: sergio.barrondo@ehu.eus.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barrondo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Paseo de la Universidad 7, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz (Araba), Spain. Electronic address: gontzal.garcia@ehu.eus.
authors.forename: Gontzal
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: García del Caño
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Paseo de la Universidad 7, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz (Araba), Spain; CIBERSAM, Spain. Electronic address: maider.lopez@ehu.eus.
authors.forename: Maider
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: López de Jesús
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Paseo de la Universidad 7, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz (Araba), Spain; CIBERSAM, Spain. Electronic address: joan.salles@ehu.es.
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sallés
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D059329:Cholinergic Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000378:metabolism; D050598:Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 1 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D050598:Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 1; D003561:Cytarabine; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase; C402565:glutamate decarboxylase 1
keywords: Cytosine β-d-arabinofuranoside; Neuronal differentiation; Neurotransmitter phenotype; Pluripotent NT2 cells; Postmitotic human neurons; Retinoic acid