Neuronal medium that supports basic synaptic functions and activity of human neurons in vitro

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1504393112
• Publication Date: 2015-04-14T02:41:48Z
• Authors: Cedric Bardy; Mark van den Hurk; Tameji Eames; Cynthia Marchand; Ruben V. Hernandez; Mariko Kellogg; Mark Gorris; Ben Galet; Vanessa Palomares; Joshua Brown; Anne G. Bang; Jerome Mertens; Lena Böhnke; Leah Boyer; Suzanne Simon; Fred H. Gage
• Keywords: Neurons; 0303 health sciences; Patch-Clamp Techniques; BrainPhys; induced pluripotent stem cells; Models, Neurological; Cell Culture Techniques; Brain; In Vitro Techniques; tissue culture milieu; Culture Media; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Radboudumc 2: Cancer development and immune defence RIMLS: Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences; neuromedium; Synapses; neurobasal DMEM; Humans

SignificanceNeuronal cultures are very valuable to learn about basic principles of the nervous system. In vivo, neural electrical activity is the essence of nervous system function, controlling emotion, memory, sensory modalities, and behavior. In this study, we discovered that many crucial neurophysiological properties were strongly altered in classic culture media that are widely used by the research community. To overcome this problem, we designed and tested a new tissue culture neuromedium that adequately supports in vitro neuronal activity. The improvements made in this medium reduce the gap between in vivo brain physiological conditions and neuronal models in vitro. Improving physiological conditions in vitro may lead to more successful translation from bench to clinics.