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Review
. 2014 May;71(9):1623-39.
doi: 10.1007/s00018-013-1511-1. Epub 2013 Nov 20.

In vitro neurogenesis: development and functional implications of iPSC technology

Claudia Compagnucci  1 , Monica Nizzardo, Stefania Corti, Ginevra Zanni, Enrico Bertini
Affiliations
Review

In vitro neurogenesis: development and functional implications of iPSC technology

Claudia Compagnucci et al. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2014 May.

Abstract

Neurogenesis is the developmental process regulating cell proliferation of neural stem cells, determining their differentiation into glial and neuronal cells, and orchestrating their organization into finely regulated functional networks. Can this complex process be recapitulated in vitro using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology? Can neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases be modeled using iPSCs? What is the potential of iPSC technology in neurobiology? What are the recent advances in the field of neurological diseases? Since the applications of iPSCs in neurobiology are based on the capacity to regulate in vitro differentiation of human iPSCs into different neuronal subtypes and glial cells, and the possibility of obtaining iPSC-derived neurons and glial cells is based on and hindered by our poor understanding of human embryonic development, we reviewed current knowledge on in vitro neural differentiation from a developmental and cellular biology perspective. We highlight the importance to further advance our understanding on the mechanisms controlling in vivo neurogenesis in order to efficiently guide neurogenesis in vitro for cell modeling and therapeutical applications of iPSCs technology.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Maintenance and differentiation of stem cells. a Photos of iPSCs cultured on a feeder layer of murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEF), Matrigel, or in suspension as embryoid bodies. b Bright field images depicting neural stem cells grown in suspension as a neurosphere. c Photograph of a mixed population of neuronal cells. The navy blue arrowheads indicate neural rosettes from which neurites (including axons and dendrites) and neuronal somata mature (lavender arrowhead). The red arrowhead indicates astrocytes. Phase-contrast photographs were taken with a Motic AE21 microscope (Motic Instruments Inc., Canada belonging to OPBG) connected to a Moticam 2300 digital camera using the software Motic Images Plus 2.0. Scale bar 15 μm
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
In vitro neurogenesis. a iPSCs during in vitro differentiation into motor neurons or b cerebellar and c cortical telencephalic neurons at different phases (early, intermediate, and terminal). Phase-contrast photographs were taken with a Motic AE21 microscope (Motic Instruments Inc., Canada belonging to OPBG) connected to a Moticam 2300 digital camera using the software Motic Images Plus 2.0. Scale bar 15 μm
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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