Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026
Organotypic Slice Cultures for Studies of Postnatal Neurogenesis
Published on: March 4, 2015
Haloperidol, Olanzapine, and Risperidone Induce Morphological Changes in an In Vitro Model of Human Hippocampal
Bálint Jezsó1,2,3, Sára Kálmán4, Kiara Gitta Farkas1
1Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, HUN-REN RCNS, Magyar tudósok körútja 2., H-1117 Budapest, Hungary.
Background:
Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) based neuronal differentiation is valuable for studying neuropsychiatric disorders and pharmacological mechanisms at the cellular level. We aimed to examine the effects of typical and atypical antipsychotics on human iPSC-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs).
Methods:
Proliferation and neurite outgrowth were measured by live cell imaging, and gene expression levels related to neuronal identity were analyzed by RT-QPCR and immunocytochemistry during differentiation into hippocampal dentate gyrus granule cells following treatment of low- and high-dose antipsychotics (haloperidol, olanzapine, and risperidone).
Results:
Antipsychotics did not modify the growth properties of NPCs after 3 days of treatment. However, the characteristics of neurite outgrowth changed significantly in response to haloperidol and olanzapine. After three weeks of differentiation, mRNA expression levels of the selected neuronal markers increased (except for MAP2), while antipsychotics caused only subtle changes. Additionally, we found no changes in MAP2 or GFAP protein expression levels as a result of antipsychotic treatment.
Conclusions:
Altogether, antipsychotic medications promoted neurogenesis in vitro by influencing neurite outgrowth rather than changing cell survival or gene expression. This study provides insights into the effects of antipsychotics on neuronal differentiation and highlights the importance of considering neurite outgrowth as a potential target of action.
