Integration of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (hiPSC)-Derived Neurons into Rat Brain
Xiling Yin,
Ted Dawson,
Valina Dawson
Affiliations
Xiling Yin
Neuroregeneration and Stem Cell Programs, Neuroregeneration and Stem Cell Programs, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USADepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
Ted Dawson
Neuroregeneration and Stem Cell Programs, Neuroregeneration and Stem Cell Programs, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USADepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA, Soloman H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA, Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA, Adrienne Helis Malvin Medical Research Found
Valina Dawson
Neuroregeneration and Stem Cell Programs, Neuroregeneration and Stem Cell Programs, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USADepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA, Soloman H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA, Department of Physiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA, Adrienne Helis Malvin Medical Research Foundation, New Orleans, Louis
Human neuron transplantation offers novel opportunities for modeling human neurologic diseases and potentially replacement therapies. However, the complex structure of the human cerebral cortex, which is organized in six layers with tightly interconnected excitatory and inhibitory neuronal networks, presents significant challenges for in vivo transplantation techniques to obtain a balanced, functional and homeostatically stable neuronal network. Here, we present a protocol to introduce human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neural progenitors to rat brains. Using this approach, hiPSC-derived neurons structurally integrate into the rat forebrain, exhibit electrophysiological characteristics, including firing, excitatory and inhibitory synaptic activity, and establish neuronal connectivity with the host circuitry.
