Highly Efficient Conversion of Motor Neuron-Like NSC-34 Cells into Functional Motor Neurons by Prostaglandin E₂

• Main Authors: Hiroshi Nango, Yasuhiro Kosuge, Masaki Sato, Yoshiyuki Shibukawa, Yuri Aono, Tadashi Saigusa, Yoshihisa Ito, Kumiko Ishige
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
• Series: Cells
• Subjects: prostaglandin E₂; motor neuron; neuronal differentiation; neurite outgrowth; voltage-gated sodium current; action potential
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/9/7/1741

Motor neuron diseases are a group of progressive neurological disorders that degenerate motor neurons. The neuroblastoma × spinal cord hybrid cell line NSC-34 is widely used as an experimental model in studies of motor neuron diseases. However, the differentiation efficiency of NSC-34 cells to neurons is not always sufficient. We have found that prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) induces morphological differentiation in NSC-34 cells. The present study investigated the functional properties of PGE₂-differentiated NSC-34 cells. Retinoic acid (RA), a widely-used agent inducing cell differentiation, facilitated neuritogenesis, which peaked on day 7, whereas PGE₂-induced neuritogenesis took only 2 days to reach the same level. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings showed that the current threshold of PGE₂-treated cell action potentials was lower than that of RA-treated cells. PGE₂ and RA increased the protein expression levels of neuronal differentiation markers, microtubule-associated protein 2c and synaptophysin, and to the same extent, motor neuron-specific markers HB9 and Islet-1. On the other hand, protein levels of choline acetyltransferase and basal release of acetylcholine in PGE₂-treated cells were higher than in RA-treated cells. These results suggest that PGE₂ is a rapid and efficient differentiation-inducing factor for the preparation of functionally mature motor neurons from NSC-34 cells.