Biphasic Activation of WNT Signaling Facilitates the Derivation of Midbrain Dopamine Neurons from hESCs for Translational Use.

ABSTRACT: Human pluripotent stem cells show considerable promise for applications in regenerative medicine, including the development of cell replacement paradigms for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Protocols have been developed to generate authentic midbrain dopamine (mDA) neurons capable of reversing dopamine-related deficits in animal models of Parkinson's disease. However, the generation of mDA neurons at clinical scale suitable for human application remains an important challenge. Here, we present an mDA neuron derivation protocol based on a two-step WNT signaling activation strategy that improves expression of midbrain markers, such as Engrailed-1 (EN1), while minimizing expression of contaminating posterior (hindbrain) and anterior (diencephalic) lineage markers. The resulting neurons

SUBMITTER: Kim TW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8006469 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature