Neural Progenitor Cells: Models of Toxicology for the 21st Century

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) are an attractive in vitro model to study neurological development, neurotoxicity, and diseases of the nervous system. However, there is a lack of validated NPC lines and media that support differentiation into multiple types of neurons for disease modeling as well as drug and toxicity screening. This webinar will explore the expression of genes associated with the differentiation of NPCs during three weeks in dopaminergic differentiation media. We will then validate that ATCC NPCs and dopaminergic differentiation media are suitable for drug screening in neurotoxicity screenings in NPC-derived neurons by using a viability assay and high-content imaging analysis.

Key Points

• ATCC NPCs cultured in ATCC Dopaminergic Neuron Differentiation Media express a range of specialized neural markers
• NPCs are sensitive to several compounds known for their cytotoxic effects
• The complete NPC culture system provides a validated model to investigate the neurotoxicity of a variety of chemotherapeutics