Large-Scale Production of Mature Neurons from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells in a Three-Dimensional Suspension Culture System

•Efficient, large-scale differentiation of hPSC to distinct neuronal subtypes•Differentiated neurons can be maintained in spinner flasks for extended time periods•Derived neurons are functionally mature and form an extensive synaptic network•Attractive platform for in vitro modeling of different forms of neurological disease

SummaryHuman pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) offer a renewable source of cells that can be expanded indefinitely and differentiated into virtually any type of cell in the human body, including neurons. This opens up unprecedented possibilities to study neuronal cell and developmental biology and cellular pathology of the nervous system, provides a platform for the screening of chemical libraries that affect these processes, and offers a potential source of transplantable cells for regenerative approaches to neurological disease. However, defining protocols that permit a large number and high yield of neurons has proved difficult. We present differentiation protocols for the generation of distinct subtypes of neurons in a highly reproducible manner, with minimal experiment-to-experiment variation. These neurons form synapses with neighboring cells, exhibit spontaneous electrical activity, and respond appropriately to depolarization. hPSC-derived neurons exhibit a high degree of maturation and survive in culture for up to 4–5 months, even without astrocyte feeder layers.