A new advanced cellular model of functional cholinergic-like neurons developed by reprogramming the human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line.

Modeling human neuronal properties in physiological and pathological conditions is essential to identify novel potential drugs and to explore pathological mechanisms of neurological diseases. For this purpose, we generated a three-dimensional (3D) neuronal culture, by employing the readily available human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line, and a new differentiation protocol. The entire differentiation process occurred in a matrix and lasted 47 days, with 7 days of pre-differentiation phase and 40 days of differentiation, and allowed the development of a 3D culture in conditions consistent with the physiological environment.

Prussian Blue Nanoparticle-Mediated Scalable Thermal Stimulation for In Vitro Neuronal Differentiation.

Heating has recently been applied as an alternative to electrical stimulation to modulate excitability and to induce neuritogenesis and the expression of neuronal markers; however, a long-term functional differentiation has not been described so far. Here, we present the results obtained by a new approach for scalable thermal stimulation on the behavior of a model of dorsal root ganglion neurons, the F-11 cell line. Initially, we performed experiments of bulk stimulation in an incubator for different time intervals and temperatures, and significant differences in neurite elongation and in electrophysiological properties were observed in cultures exposed at 41.

Simultaneous Detection of , , , and Gene Mutations by Targeted NGS in an Italian Cohort of Suspected NF1 Patients.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) displays overlapping phenotypes with other neurocutaneous diseases such as Legius Syndrome. Here, we present results obtained using a next generation sequencing (NGS) panel including , , , , and genes on Ion Torrent. Together with NGS, the Multiplex Ligation-Dependent Probe Amplification Analysis (MLPA) method was performed to rule out large deletions/duplications in gene; we validated the MLPA/NGS approach using Sanger sequencing on DNA or RNA of both positive and negative samples.

Serum-deprived differentiated neuroblastoma F-11 cells express functional dorsal root ganglion neuron properties.

The isolation and culture of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons cause adaptive changes in the expression and regulation of ion channels, with consequences on neuronal excitability. Considering that not all neurons survive the isolation and that DRG neurons are heterogeneous, it is difficult to find the cellular subtype of interest. For this reason, researchers opt for DRG-derived immortal cell lines to investigate endogenous properties.