Authors: F Limone, I Guerra San Juan, JM Mitchell, JLM Smith, K Raghunathan, D Meyer, S Dia Ghosh, A Couto, JR Klim, BJ Joseph, J Gold, CJ Mello, J Nemesh, BM Smith, M Verhage, SA McCarroll, O Pietiläinen, R Nehme, K Eggan
Cell Reports, Open Access, 2023
Scientists use Axion’s next-generation Maestro MEA system to assess activity in lower induced motor neurons in vitro.
Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSCs) technologies are accelerating the study of motor neuron diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy but modeling motor neurons in vitro can be challenging. In this study, scientists develop a promising new protocol to derive motor neurons from stem cells and use Axion’s noninvasive, label-free Maestro multielectrode array (MEA) system to characterize motor neurons in vitro and assess the effects of potential therapeutics. Overall, the findings demonstrate “a rapid and efficient protocol to generate human MN-like cells from hPSCs by combining the overexpression of neutralizing factor Ngn2 and ventralizing and caudalizing small molecules patterning,” which the authors suggest may lead to better in vitro models of neurodegenerative disease.
