Integrated Approach for the Differentiation of Neurons and Astrocytes from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

The differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into neural lineage cells is an important approach for studying neural induction, cell therapy, disease modeling, and drug screening. In this chapter, we present an integrated approach for the differentiation of neurons and astrocytes from hPSCs. Specifically, we depict a stepwise protocol for rapidly differentiating hPSCs, either normal or bearing disease variants, into neural progenitor cells (NPCs) within 18 days. The protocol generated highly pure NPCs that are preservable and ready to serve as starting cells for further neuron and astrocyte differentiation. To enhance astrocyte maturation, we treated NPCs with BMP2/CNTF for 2 weeks. This approach thus allows for the generation of neurons and astrocytes from a single-parent donor with the same genetic background, making it useful for studying neuron–glia interactions in a dish. Overall, this protocol can serve as an alternative cellular platform for recapitulating inherited neurological diseases and astrocyte-related diseases.