Astrocytes are specialized glial cell types of the central nervous system (CNS) with remarkably high abundance, morphological and functional diversity. Astrocytes maintain neural metabolic support, synapse regulation, blood-brain barrier integrity and immunological homeostasis through intricate interactions with other cells, including neurons, microglia, pericytes and lymphocytes. Due to their extensive intercellular crosstalks, astrocytes are also implicated in the pathogenesis of CNS disorders, such as ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Despite the critical importance of astrocytes in neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation are recognized, the lack of suitable in vitro systems limits their availability for modeling human brain pathologies. Here, we report the time-efficient, reproducible generation of astrocytes from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). Our hiPSC-derived astrocytes expressed characteristic astrocyte markers, such as GFAP, S100b, ALDH1L1 and AQP4. Furthermore, hiPSC-derived astrocytes displayed spontaneous calcium transients and responded to inflammatory stimuli by the secretion of type A1 and type A2 astrocyte-related cytokines.

BioTalentum Ltd Godollo Hungary

Department of Biochemistry Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Department of Immunochemistry Diagnostics University Hospital Pilsen Pilsen Czech Republic

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen Charles University Pilsen Czech Republic

Department of Physiology and Animal Health Institute of Physiology and Animal Nutrition Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences Godollo Hungary

Laboratory of Neurobiology and Pathological Physiology Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics Czech Academy of Sciences Brno Czech Republic

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