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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Subtype-specific Optical Action Potential Recordings in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Ventricular Cardiomyocytes

Subtype-specific Optical Action Potential Recordings in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Ventricular Cardiomyocytes

Published on: September 27, 2018

Subtype Diversification and Synaptic Specificity of Stem Cell-Derived Spinal Interneurons.

Phuong T Hoang¹, Joshua I Chalif², Jay B Bikoff³

¹Departments of Pathology and Cell Biology, Neuroscience, Rehabilitation & Regenerative Medicine, and Neurology, Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, Columbia Stem Cell Initiative, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.

|October 12, 2018

Summary

Stem cell models reveal how external signals guide spinal neuron (V1 interneuron) diversification. Manipulating Notch and retinoid pathways promotes specific subtypes like Renshaw cells, crucial for motor control.

Keywords:

Renshaw cell V1 interneuron differentiation embryonic stem cells in vitro motor neuron neurons spinal cord subtype synaptic specificity

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Developmental Biology
Stem Cell Biology

Background:

Neuronal diversification is crucial for functional neural circuits.
Understanding how progenitor cells generate diverse neuronal subtypes is a key challenge.
V1 interneurons, spinal neurons with many subtypes, are vital for motor control.

Purpose of the Study:

To model V1 interneuron subtype diversification using embryonic stem cells (ESCs).
To investigate the role of extrinsic signals in V1 interneuron subtype specification.
To explore the potential of stem cell-derived neurons for studying circuit assembly.

Main Methods:

Developed an ESC-based system to model V1 interneuron development.
Manipulated extrinsic signaling pathways (Notch inhibition, retinoid activation).
Transplanted generated neuronal subtypes to assess migration and synaptogenesis.

Main Results:

Extrinsic signals can modify V1 interneuron subtype identity.
Inhibiting Notch and activating retinoid signaling induced MafA clade identity, enriching Renshaw cell differentiation.
Renshaw cells exhibited intrinsic programming for lamina-specific migration and motor neuron synapse formation.

Conclusions:

ESC-derived neuronal subtypes can recapitulate aspects of in vivo development.
This model system is valuable for dissecting mechanisms of neuronal subtype specification.
Findings provide insights into the assembly of spinal neural circuits.