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Functional control of transplantable human ESC-derived neurons via optogenetic targeting.

ABSTRACT: Current methods to examine and regulate the functional integration and plasticity of human ESC (hESC)-derived neurons are cumbersome and technically challenging. Here, we engineered hESCs and their derivatives to express the light-gated channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) protein to overcome these deficiencies. Optogenetic targeting of hESC-derived neurons with ChR2 linked to the mCherry fluorophore allowed reliable cell tracking as well as light-induced spiking at physiological frequencies. Optically induced excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic currents could be elicited in either ChR2(+) or ChR2(-) neurons in vitro and in acute brain slices taken from transplanted severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. Furthermore, we created a clonal hESC line that expresses ChR2-mCherry under the control of the synapsin-1 promoter. On neuronal differentiation, ChR2-mCherry expression was restricted to neurons and was stably expressed for at least 6 months, providing more predictable light-induced currents than transient infections. This pluripotent cell line will allow both in vitro and in vivo analysis of functional development as well as the integration capacity of neuronal populations for cell-replacement strategies.

SUBMITTER: Weick JP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2988875 | biostudies-other | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Functional control of transplantable human ESC-derived neurons via optogenetic targeting.

Weick Jason P JP Johnson M Austin MA Skroch Steven P SP Williams Justin C JC Deisseroth Karl K Zhang Su-Chun SC

Stem cells (Dayton, Ohio) 20101101 11

Current methods to examine and regulate the functional integration and plasticity of human ESC (hESC)-derived neurons are cumbersome and technically challenging. Here, we engineered hESCs and their derivatives to express the light-gated channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) protein to overcome these deficiencies. Optogenetic targeting of hESC-derived neurons with ChR2 linked to the mCherry fluorophore allowed reliable cell tracking as well as light-induced spiking at physiological frequencies. Optically ind ...[more]

PMID: 20827747

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Project description:Electrical and pharmacological stimulation methods are commonly used to study neuronal brain circuits in vivo, but are problematic, because electrical stimulation has limited specificity, while pharmacological activation has low temporal resolution. A recently developed alternative to these methods is the use of optogenetic techniques, based on the expression of light sensitive channel proteins in neurons. While optogenetics have been applied in in vitro preparations and in in vivo studies in rodents, their use to study brain function in nonhuman primates has been limited to the cerebral cortex. Here, we characterize the effects of channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) transfection in subcortical areas, i.e., the putamen, the external globus pallidus (GPe) and the ventrolateral thalamus (VL) of rhesus monkeys. Lentiviral vectors containing the ChR2 sequence under control of the elongation factor 1? promoter (pLenti-EF1? -hChR2(H134R)-eYFP-WPRE, titer 10? particles/ml) were deposited in GPe, putamen and VL. Four weeks later, a probe combining a conventional electrode and an optic fiber was introduced in the previously injected brain areas. We found light-evoked responses in 31.5% and 32.7% of all recorded neurons in the striatum and thalamus, respectively, but only in 2.5% of recorded GPe neurons. As expected, most responses were time-locked increases in firing, but decreases or mixed responses were also seen, presumably via ChR2-mediated activation of local inhibitory connections. Light and electron microscopic analyses revealed robust expression of ChR2 on the plasma membrane of cell somas, dendrites, spines and terminals in the striatum and VL. This study demonstrates that optogenetic experiments targeting the striatum and basal ganglia-related thalamic nuclei can be successfully achieved in monkeys. Our results indicate important differences of the type and magnitude of responses in each structure. Experimental conditions such as the vector used, the number and rate of injections, or the light stimulation conditions have to be optimized for each structure studied.

Project description:Background Optogenetics, using light-sensitive proteins, emerged as a unique experimental paradigm to modulate cardiac excitability. We aimed to develop high-resolution optogenetic approaches to modulate electrical activity in 2- and 3-dimensional cardiac tissue models derived from human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes. Methods and Results To establish light-controllable cardiac tissue models, opsin-carrying HEK293 cells, expressing the light-sensitive cationic-channel CoChR, were mixed with hiPSC-cardiomyocytes to generate 2-dimensional hiPSC-derived cardiac cell-sheets or 3-dimensional engineered heart tissues. Complex illumination patterns were designed with a high-resolution digital micro-mirror device. Optical mapping and force measurements were used to evaluate the tissues' electromechanical properties. The ability to optogenetically pace and shape the tissue's conduction properties was demonstrated by using single or multiple illumination stimulation sites, complex illumination patterns, or diffuse illumination. This allowed to establish in vitro models for optogenetic-based cardiac resynchronization therapy, where the electrical activation could be synchronized (hiPSC-derived cardiac cell-sheets and engineered heart tissue models) and contractile properties improved (engineered heart tissues). Next, reentrant activity (rotors) was induced in the hiPSC-derived cardiac cell-sheets and engineered heart tissue models through optogenetics programmed- or cross-field stimulations. Diffuse illumination protocols were then used to terminate arrhythmias, demonstrating the potential to study optogenetics cardioversion mechanisms and to identify optimal illumination parameters for arrhythmia termination. Conclusions By combining optogenetics and hiPSC technologies, light-controllable human cardiac tissue models could be established, in which tissue excitability can be modulated in a functional, reversible, and localized manner. This approach may bring a unique value for physiological/pathophysiological studies, for disease modeling, and for developing optogenetic-based cardiac pacing, resynchronization, and defibrillation approaches.

Dataset Information

Functional control of transplantable human ESC-derived neurons via optogenetic targeting.

Publications

Functional control of transplantable human ESC-derived neurons via optogenetic targeting.

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