Differentiation of Spiral Ganglion-Derived Neural Stem Cells into Functional Synaptogenetic Neurons

作者：Li Xiaoyang; Aleardi Alicia; Wang Jue; Zhou Yang; Andrade Rodrigo; Hu Zhengqing^*

来源：Stem Cells and Development, 2016, 25(10): 803-813.

DOI：10.1089/scd.2015.0345

Spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) are usually damaged in sensorineural hearing loss. SGN-derived neural stem cells (NSCs) have been identified and proposed to differentiate into neurons to replace damaged SGNs. However, it remains obscure whether SGN-NSC-derived neurons (ScNs) are electrophysiologically functional and possess the capability to form neural connections. Here, we found that SGN-derived cells demonstrated NSC characteristics and differentiated into SGN-like glutamatergic neurons. Neurotrophins significantly increased neuronal differentiation and neurite length of ScNs. Patch clamp recording revealed that ScNs possessed SGN-like NaV and HCN channels, suggesting electrophysiological function. FM1-43 staining and synaptic protein immunofluorescence showed ScNs possess the ability to form neural connections. Astrocyte-conditioned medium was able to stimulate ScNs to express synaptic proteins. These data suggested that neurotrophins are able to stimulate postnatal SGN-NSCs to differentiate into functional glutamatergic ScNs with the capability to form synaptic connections in vitro.

• 出版日期2016-5-15