License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Reconstitute reagents under sterile conditions in a laminar flow hood following the instructions and dilution reagents below. Go to: Dilution of stock solutions.
After reconstitution, aliquot stock solutions in sterile Safe-Lock tubes and store at-20 °C.
Take note and control the expiration time of reagents after reconstitution.
Note: reagents in solution might have a shorter expiration time as lyophilized reagents.
Once thawed, reconstituted reagents can be kept for up to 5 days at4 °C.
1.1.2 Protect from the light
Db-cAMP
L-ascorbic acid
LDN193189
1.1.3 Minimize exposure to air
L-ascorbic acid
1.1.4 Reconstitution of reagents
BDNF: Reconstitute BDNF in 0.1% HSA/PBS to obtain a stock concentration of20 µg/mL.
CHIR99021: Reconstitute CHIR99021 in DMSO to obtain a stock concentration of4 mM.
DAPT: Reconstitute DAPT in DMSO to obtain a stock concentration of10 mM.
Db-cAMP: Reconstitute db-cAMP in deionized sterile water to obtain a stock concentration of200 mM. Filter the stock solution with a 0.22 µm pore size hydrophilic PVDF membrane. Protect from the light.
Fibronectin: Reconstitute fibronectin in deionized sterile water to obtain a stock concentration of1 mg/mL.
FGF-8b: Reconstitute FGF-8b in 0.1% HSA/PBS to obtain a stock concentration of100 µg/mL.
GDNF: Reconstitute GDNF in 0.1% HSA/PBS to obtain a stock concentration of20 µg/mL.
Laminin: No reconstitution required. Aliquot LamininOn ice. Store aliquots at-20 °C.
L-ascorbic acid: Reconstitute l-ascorbic acid in deionized sterile water to obtain a stock concentration of0.2 M. Minimize exposure to air. Protect from the light.
LDN193189: Reconstitute LDN193189 in DMSO to obtain a stock concentration of500 µM. Protect from the light.
Matrigel: No reconstitution required. Aliquot MatrigelOn ice. Store aliquots at-80 °C. Dilute Matrigel matrix with ice-cold DMEM/F-12 medium for coating plates.
Poly-L-Ornithine: Reconstitute poly-l-ornithine in PBS to obtain a stock concentration of10 mg/mL. Filter the stock solution with a 0.22 µm pore size hydrophilic PVDF membrane.
Purmorphamine: Reconstitute purmorphamine in DMSO to obtain a stock concentration of2 mM.
SHH: Reconstitute SHH in 0.1% HSA/PBS to obtain a stock concentration of100 µg/mL.
SB431542: Reconstitute SB431542 in DMSO to obtain a stock concentration of10 mM.
TGFß3: Reconstitute TGFβ3 in 0.1% HSA/4 mM HCl/PBS to obtain a stock concentration of20 µg/mL.
Y-27632: Reconstitute Y-27632 in DMSO to obtain a stock concentration of10 mM.
2 Equipment
37°C/CO2 incubator
Cell counter
Centrifuge for 15 mL conical tubes
Laminar flow hood
Light microscope
Pipette boy
Vacuum aspirator and tips
Water Bath
3 Materials
1.5 mL Safe-Lock TubesEppendorfCatalog #5409331
2 mL Cryogenic vialsNalgeneCatalog #V5007 (Sigma Distributor)
6-well plategreiner bio-oneCatalog #657160
15 mL conical centrifuge tubegreiner bio-oneCatalog #188271
50 mL conical centrifuge tubegreiner bio-oneCatalog #227261
Fatal if swallowed. Suspected of causing cancer. Toxic by ingestion
Mitomycin-C
May form combustible dust concentrations in air
L-ascorbic acid
Toxic by inhalation and ingestion. Cause skin and eye irritation
2-Mercaptoethanol
CHIR99021
DMSO
Y-27632
Before start
Schematic representation of the optimized derivation of mDA neurons from iPSCs. Created with BioRender.com
Differentiation of iPSCs into midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons
Differentiation of iPSCs into midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons
Note: This protocol is optimized for mDA neuron differentiation in 6-well plate format.
Medium change schema:
Day 0-20:4 mL per well
Day 21-65:3 mL per well
Day 0-15: daily media changes
Day 16-20: media changes every 2 days
Day 21-65: media changes every 2-3 days
Day -2: Coating of 6-well plates with Geltrex
Day -2: Coating of 6-well plates with Geltrex
1d
1d
Thaw Geltrex OvernightOn iceand dilute to 100x in ice cold DMEM/F-12.
12h
Coat 6-well culture plates with1 mL per wellof Geltrex solutionOvernightat37 °C5 % CO2.
12h
Day -1: Single cell dissociation and seeding for differentiation
Day -1: Single cell dissociation and seeding for differentiation
1m
1m
Discard Geltrex solution and add2 mL per wellof E8 Flex medium supplemented with10 µMY-27632 avoiding the coating to dry out.
Day -1: Single cell dissociation and seeding for differentiation
Day -1: Single cell dissociation and seeding for differentiation
1m
1m
Keep the plate at37 °Cfor00:05:00before seeding cells.
5m
Day -1: Single cell dissociation and seeding for differentiation
Day -1: Single cell dissociation and seeding for differentiation
1m
1m
Warm PBS, Accutase and E8 Flex medium toRoom temperature.
15m
Add1 mL per wellof Accutase to iPSCs in 6-well plate.
Dissociate cells with a P1000 pipette by pipetting the cell suspension up and down for 3-6 times.
Perform a quick microscope inspection of the cells. A single cell suspension should be obtained.
Transfer the cell suspension to a 15 mL conical centrifuge tube. A total volume of12 mLhould be obtained from a full 6-well plate.
Centrifuge the cell suspension at300 x g, 23°C, 00:05:00.
5m
Discard the supernatant carefully and resuspend the cell pellet in1 mLE8 Flex medium supplemented with10 µMY-27632 by gently pipetting the cell suspension up and down for 3-6 times with a P1000 pipette to obtain a homogeneous cell suspension.
Adjust the volume with E8 Flex medium supplemented with10 µMY-27632 to12 mL. Mix well.
Perform two separate live-cell counts using a hemocytometer or an automated cell counter.
Critical step: Adjust the cell suspension volume accordingly to obtain an accurate counting.
Calculate the mean achieved from the two counts and determine the concentration of live cells per milliliter.
Expected result
A cell viability of 95-99% should be obtained.
Note: Working with a different brand of Accutase might impact the cell viability when following the dissociation protocol described above. If cell viability is lower than expected, reduce the incubation time with Accutase to00:20:00and the number of pipetting to dissociate the cell colonies to 3-4 times.
Seed 800,000 cells per well in a total volume of4 mL per wellon 6-well plates coated with Geltrex.
Rock the plate back-forth and side-to-side for00:00:10to achieve an even spread of cells in the plate well.
10s
Keep cells intactOvernightat37 °C5 % CO2.
12h
Day 0: Start differentiation
Day 0: Start differentiation
1h
1h
Before starting:
a) Prepare enough amount of Knockout Serum Replacement (KSR) medium.
For 500 mLof KSR medium, add:
413.5 mL Knockout DMEM/F-12 medium
75 mL Knockout Serum Replacement
5 mL MEM Non-Essential Amino Acids
5 mL GlutaMAX
500 µL 2-mercaptoethanol
1 mL Penicillin-Streptomycin
Storage: KSR medium can be stored for 5 days at4 °Cor for up to one month at-20 °C.
b) Reconstitute lyophilized reagents following the instructions and stock concentrations indicated in Materials (1.1.4 Reconstitution of reagents).
Use the following final concentrations:
500 nM LDN193189
10 µM SB431542
100 ng/mL SHH
2 µM Purmorphamine
100 ng/mL FGF8
4 µM CHIR99021
20 ng/mL BDNF
0.2 mM Ascorbic acid
20 ng/mL GDNF
0.5 mM db-cAMP
1 ng/mL TGFβ3
10 µMor10 nM DAPT
Storage: Once thawed, the stocks of small molecules and growth factors can be stored for up to 5 days at4 °C.
Notes: Small molecules and growth factors must be freshly added immediately before each medium change. It is strongly advised to avoid mixing different lots of reagents in the same differentiation.
Perform a quick microscope inspection to the cells to check confluency.
Critical step: Start the differentiation with a 100% confluent cell culture, meaning that the culture area of the plate should be completely covered with a cell monolayer. Not confluent cell cultures might affect differentiation efficiency. If cell lines did not achieve 100% confluency on day 0, the number of cells seeded per cm2 on day -1 should be adjusted accordingly.
Prepare differentiation medium:
Warm KSR medium at37 °C.
Add:
500 nM LDN193189
10 µM SB431542
Mix well.
Critical step: Do not add small molecules to cold medium to avoid inadequate dissolution.
15m
Perform full media change:
Discard old culture medium and add4 mL per wellof differentiation medium very carefully avoiding touching the bottom of the well.
Critical step: To prevent cells from drying out during full media changes, change the medium of one 6-well plate at each time. Add differentiation medium very gently (dropwise) to avoid perturbation of the cell layer. Cell detachments might affect the differentiation efficiency. In case of cell detachment, a confluency above 95% is desired to continue the differentiation.
Media changes during differentiation
Media changes during differentiation
From day 1, change 75% of the differentiation medium daily until day 15, and then, every 2 days until day 20.
Note: to perform 75% medium change of a working volume of4 mL per well,, discard 3 mLof old medium and add4 mL per wellof fresh prepared differentiation medium.
Day 1 and 2
Day 1 and 2
15m
15m
Warm KSR medium at37 °C.
Add:
500 nM LDN193189
10 µM SB431542
100 ng/mL SHH
2 µM Purmorphamine
100 ng/mL FGF-8b
Mix well.
Perform medium change: 4 mL per well.
Place cells back at37 °C5 % CO2.
15m
Day 3 and 4
Day 3 and 4
15m
15m
Warm KSR medium at37 °C.
Add:
500 nM LDN193189
10 µM SB431542
100 ng/mL SHH
2 µM Purmorphamine
100 ng/mL FGF-8b
4 µM CHIR99021
Mix well.
Perform medium change: 4 mL per well.
Place cells back at37 °C5 % CO2.
15m
Day 5 and 6
Day 5 and 6
1h
1h
Before starting:
Prepare enough amount of N2 medium.
For 500 mLof N2 medium, add:
479 mL Neurobasal medium
10 mL B27 supplement without vitamin A
5 mL N2 supplement
5 mL GlutaMAX
1 mL Penicillin-Streptomycin
Storage: N2 medium can be stored for 5 days at4 °Cor for up to one month at-20 °C.
Warm KSR and N2 medium at37 °C.
Mix:
75 % KSR medium
25 % N2 medium
Add:
500 nM LDN193189
10 µM SB431542
100 ng/mL SHH
2 µM Purmorphamine
100 ng/mL FGF-8b
4 µM CHIR99021
Mix well.
Perform medium change: 4 mL per well.
Place cells back at37 °C5 % CO2.
Day 7 and 8
Day 7 and 8
15m
15m
Warm KSR and N2 medium at37 °C.
Mix:
50 % KSR medium
50 % N2 medium
Add:
500 nM LDN193189
10 µM SB431542
100 ng/mL SHH
4 µM CHIR99021
Mix well.
Perform medium change: 4 mL per well.
Place cells back at37 °C5 % CO2.
15m
Day 9 and 10
Day 9 and 10
15m
15m
Warm KSR and N2 medium at37 °C.
Mix:
25 % KSR medium
75 % N2 medium
Add:
500 nM LDN193189
10 µM SB431542
100 ng/mL SHH
4 µM CHIR99021
Mix well.
Perform medium change: 4 mL per well.
Place cells back at37 °C5 % CO2.
15m
Day 11 and 12
Day 11 and 12
1h
1h
Before starting:
Prepare enough amount of NB/B27 medium.
For 500 mLNB/B27 medium, add:
484 mL Neurobasal medium
10 mL B27 supplement without vitamin A
5 mL GlutaMAX
1 mL Penicillin-Streptomycin
Storage: NB/B27 medium can be stored for 5 days at4 °Cor for up to one month at-20 °C.
Warm NB/B27 medium at37 °C.
Add:
4 µM CHIR99021
20 ng/mL BDNF
0.2 mM Ascorbic acid
20 ng/mL GDNF
0.5 mM db-cAMP
1 ng/mL TGFβ3
10 µM DAPT
Mix well.
Perform medium change: 4 mL per well.
Place cells back at37 °C5 % CO2.
Day 13 -15, 17 and 19
Day 13 -15, 17 and 19
15m
15m
Warm NB/B27 medium at37 °C.
Add:
20 ng/mL BDNF
0.2 mM Ascorbic acid
20 ng/mL GDNF
0.5 mM db-cAMP
1 ng/mL TGFβ3
10 µM DAPT
Mix well.
Perform medium change: 4 mL per well.
Place cells back at37 °C5 % CO2.
15m
Day 20: Replating of mDA neuron precursors at high cell density
Day 20: Replating of mDA neuron precursors at high cell density
2d
2d
Note: At day 20 of differentiation, mDA neuron precursors can be replated as describe below or cryopreserved.
Before starting:
Coating of 6-well plates step 1
Coat 6-well culture plates with1 mL per well0.1 mg/mLPoly-L-Ornithine (PLO) in PBS. Incubate platesOvernightat37 °C. Wash plates three times with PBS. Discard PBS and proceed to coating step 2.
Coating of 6-well plates step 2
Coat 6-well culture plates with1 mL per well10 µg/mLLaminin plus 2 µg/mLFibronectin, both diluted in PBS. Incubate platesOvernightat37 °C. Do not store coated plates. Proceed with preparation of plates for seeding cells.
Preparation of 6-well plates for seeding cells
Warm NB/B27 medium at37 °C.
Make NB/B27 complete medium by adding:
20 ng/mL BDNF
0.2 mM Ascorbic acid
20 ng/mL GDNF
0.5 mM db-cAMP
1 ng/mL TGFβ3
10 nM DAPT
10 µM Y-27632
Discard coating reagents and add2 mL per wellof NB/B27 complete medium.
Keep the plate at37 °Cfor00:15:00before seeding cells.
2d
Warm PBS, Accutase and NB/B27 medium toRoom temperature.
Discard old culture media and wash cells once with1 mL per wellof PBS.
Discard PBS and add1 mL per wellof Accutase.
Incubate cells at37 °Cfor00:15:00.
15m
After incubation, block Accutase with1 mL per wellNB/B27 medium supplemented with10 µMY-27632.
Dissociate cells with a P1,000 pipette by pipetting the cell suspension up and down for 3-6 times.
Perform a quick microscope inspection of the cells. A single cell suspension should be obtained.
Transfer the cell suspension to a conical tube. A total volume of12 mLshould be obtained from a full 6-well plate.
Centrifuge the cell suspension at300 x g, 23°C, 00:05:00.
5m
Discard the supernatant carefully and add1 mLNB/B27 complete medium. Resuspend the cell pellet very gently with a P1,000 pipette by pipetting the cell suspension up and down for 3-6 times.
Complete the volume to12 mLwith NB/B27 complete medium and mix well.
Perform two separate live-cell counts using a hemocytometer or an automated cell counter.
Critical step: Adjust the cell suspension volume accordingly to obtain an accurate counting.
Calculate the mean achieved from the two counts and determine the concentration of live cells per milliliter.
Expected result
A cell viability of 90-99% should be obtained. If lower, reduce the number of pipetting to dissociate the cell clumps to 3-4 times.
Seed desired density (300,000 to 500, 000 cells) on MatTek dishes or 6-well plate coated with PLO/Laminin.
Rock the plate back-forth and side-to-side for00:00:10to achieve an even spread of cells in the plate well.
10s
Keep cells intact Overnightat37 °C5 % CO2.
12h
Day 23: Treatment with antimitotic inhibitor (Supplement K)
Day 23: Treatment with antimitotic inhibitor (Supplement K)
15m
15m
Before starting:
Warm NB/B27 medium at37 °C.
Make NB/B27 complete medium by adding:
20 ng/mL BDNF
0.2 mM Ascorbic acid
20 ng/mL GDNF
0.5 mM db-cAMP
1 ng/mL TGFβ3
10 nM DAPT
Prepare enough amount of NB/B27 complete medium supplemented with1 Parts per Million (PPM) Stock: 1000xSupplement K (BrainXell). Mix well.
15m
Discard old culture medium and add2 mL per wellof NB/B27 complete medium supplemented with Supplement K.
Place cells back at37 °C5 % CO2.
Every 5 days: Change medium for terminal differentiation of mDA neurons
Every 5 days: Change medium for terminal differentiation of mDA neurons
15m
15m
Warm NB/B27 medium at37 °C.
Add:
20 ng/mL BDNF
0.2 mM Ascorbic acid
20 ng/mL GDNF
0.5 mM db-cAMP
1 ng/mL TGFβ3
10 nM DAPT
Mix well by 20x full inversions of the conical tube or flask.
Perform medium change: 2 mL per well.
Place cells back at37 °C5 % CO2.
15m
Every 10 days: Supplement differentiation medium with Laminin
Every 10 days: Supplement differentiation medium with Laminin
15m
15m
Warm NB/B27 medium at37 °C.
Make NB/B27 complete medium by adding:
20 ng/mL BDNF
0.2 mM Ascorbic acid
20 ng/mL GDNF
0.5 mM db-cAMP
1 ng/mL TGFβ3
10 nM DAPT
Cool down NB/B27 complete medium toRoom temperature.
Add:
10 µg/mL Laminin
Mix well.
15m
Discard old culture medium. Perform medium change as following:
3 mL per well in 6-well plates
200 µL per well in 96-well plates
Place cells back at3 °C5 % CO2.
Cryopreservation of mDA neurons on day 20
Cryopreservation of mDA neurons on day 20
5m
5m
Before starting:
Thaw Synth-a-Freeze cryopreservation medium from -20C.
Perform cells dissociation and previously describedgo to step #1.5.
After determining the number of live cells, centrifuge the cell suspension at400 x g, 23°C, 00:05:00.
5m
Resuspend the cell pellet very gently in Synth-a-Freeze medium to 3-5x10^6 cells/mL.
Distribute500 µLof the cell suspension in cryogenic vials.
Transfer cryogenic vials in a container at-80 °COvernight.
Transfer cells to the vapor phase of a liquid nitrogen storage facility.
Thawing cryopreserved mDA neurons
Thawing cryopreserved mDA neurons
12h
12h
One day before thawing:
Coat 6-well culture plates with Geltrex diluted in ice cold DMEM/F-12 mediumOvernightat37 °C.
12h
Day of thawing
Day of thawing
15m
15m
Before starting
Prepare:
Wash medium
Warm NB/B27 medium at37 °C.
Add: 10 µMY-27632.
Recovery medium
Warm NB/B27 medium at37 °C.
Make NB/B27 complete medium by adding:
20 ng/mL BDNF
0.2 mM Ascorbic acid
20 ng/mL GDNF
0.5 mM db-cAMP
1 ng/mL TGFβ3
10 nM DAPT
10 µM Y-27632
Cool down NB/B27 complete medium toRoom temperature.
6-well plates
Discard coating reagent and add2 mL per wellof recovery medium.
Label 15-mL conical tubes and fill with5 mLwash medium. Keep atRoom temperature .
Thaw cryopreserved mDA neurons by placing the cryogenic vial containing cells in a37 °Cwater bath for approximately00:01:00or until no ice is visible but the liquid is still cold.
1m
Fill a 5-mL serological pipette with4 mLwash medium and collect the thawed cell suspension very carefully.
Transfer the cell suspension dropwise to the 15-mL conical tube containing5 mLof wash medium.
Centrifuge the cell suspension at400 x g, 23°C, 00:05:00.
5m
Discard the supernatant carefully and resuspend the cell pellet with1 mLrecovery medium by gently pipetting up and down 3-6 times to obtain a homogeneous cell suspension.
Seed cells in a total volume of2 mL per wellon 6-well plates coated with Geltrex.
Treat cells with Supplement K following the same procedure described on day 23 of differentiationgo to step #5.
Rock the plate back-forth and side-to-side for00:00:10to achieve an even spread of cells in the plate well.
10s
Day 7 after thawing: Replate mDA neurons
Day 7 after thawing: Replate mDA neurons
1m
1m
Replate mDA neurons 7 days after thawing on MatTek or 6-well plates at appropriate cell densities following the procedure described for replating mDA neurons on day 20 go to step #4.15.
For long-term culture of mDA neurons, change differentiation medium every 5 days as described previouslygo to step #6.1.