DIFFERENTIATION OF NEURAL STEM CELL USING SMALL MOLECULES IN 2D AND 3D CULTURE SYSTEM

Abstract

The neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) has received much attention due to its potential for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases (i.e., Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases). In this regard, discovering compounds that direct differentiation of NSCs is highly required to facilitate therapeutic applications. In this study, we examined various bioactive compounds (SA1, SA2, LiCl, compound B, and DHED) to induce the neuronal differentiation of human neural stem cells (hNSCs). The study was conducted on the cells grown in three dimensional (3D) hydrogel or two dimensional (2D) environment since 3D hydrogel mimics the extracellular matrix and provides physiologically more relevant environment than 2D cell culture system. Three-dimensional (3D) hydrogel systems in this study involve polysaccharides such as alginate and hyaluronic acid. Neuronal differentiation of hNSCs was monitored in genetic level and protein level by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunocytochemistry (ICC), respectively. This study will show the effect of bioactive compounds on hNSCs differentiation in 2D and 3D culture systems.