Exploring Neuronal Differentiation Profiles in SH-SY5Y Cells through Magnetic Levitation Analysis

Magnetic levitation (MagLev) is a powerful and versatile technique that can sort objects based on their density differences. This paper reports the sorting of SH-SY5Y cells for neuronal differentiation by the MagLev technique. Herein, SH-SY5Y cells were differentiated with retinoic acid (RA) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Neuronal differentiation was confirmed by neurite extension measurement and the immunostaining assay. Neurites reached the maximum length on day 9 after sequential treatment with RA-BDNF. Neuronal marker expression of un-/differentiated cells was investigated by β-III tubulin and neuronal nuclei (NeuN) and differentiated cells exhibited a higher fluorescence intensity compared to un-/differentiated cells. MagLev results revealed that the density of differentiated SH-SY5Y cells gradually increased from 1.04 to 1.06 g/mL, while it remained stable at 1.05 g/mL for un-/differentiated cells. These findings signified that cell density would be a potent indicator of neuronal differentiation. Overall, it was shown that MagLev methodology can provide rapid, label-free, and easy sorting to analyze the differentiation of cells at a single-cell level.