ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mol. Neurosci.
Sec. Methods and Model Organisms
Volume 18 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2025.1661986
Transcriptomic profiling of neural cultures from the KYOU iPSC line via alternative differentiation protocols
Provisionally accepted- 1Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia
- 2Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Moscow, Russia
- 3Mental Health Research Center, Moscow, Russia
- 4Research Institute of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, RUDN University, Moscow, Russia
- 5Moscow Center for Advanced Studies, Moscow, Russia
- 6Banzarov Buryat State University, Ulan-Ude, Russia
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The differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into neurons is an essential area of biomedical research, with significant implications for understanding neural development and treating neurological diseases. This study compares neural cultures derived from a common induced pluripotent stem cell line (KYOU-DXR0109B) generated by two widely adopted methods: DUAL SMAD inhibition and exogenous NGN2 overexpression. The DUAL SMAD inhibition method, which differentiates through the neural stem cell stage, produces heterogeneous cultures containing a mix of neurons, neural precursors, and glial cells. Conversely, NGN2 overexpression generates more homogeneous cultures composed predominantly of mature neurons. Transcriptomic analysis revealed significant differences in neural gene markers expression profiles, with cultures from the DUAL SMAD inhibition method enriched in neural stem cell and glial markers, while NGN2 overexpression cultures showed elevated markers for cholinergic and peripheral sensory neurons. This study underscores the importance of choosing appropriate differentiation protocols based on the desired cell types, as each method yields neural cultures with distinct cellular compositions. Understanding these differences can help optimize protocols for specific research and therapeutic applications.
Keywords: IPSC, neural differentiation, dual SMAD inhibition, NGN2, RNA-Seq
Received: 08 Jul 2025; Accepted: 07 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Galiakberova, Ivanov, Kondratyev, Golov, Artyuhov, Zolkin, Lagunin, Golimbet and Dashinimaev. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Adelya Galiakberova, adgaliakberova@gmail.com
Erdem Dashinimaev, dashinimaev@gmail.com
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