Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are used to generate models of human diseases that recapitulate the pathogenic process as it occurs in affected cells. Many differentiated cell types can currently be obtained from iPSCs, but no validated protocol is yet available to specifically generate primary proprioceptive neurons. Proprioceptors are affected in a number of genetic and acquired diseases, including Friedreich ataxia (FRDA). To develop a cell model that can be applied to conditions primarily affecting proprioceptors, a protocol to differentiate iPSCs into primary proprioceptive neurons was established. The authors modified the dual-SMAD inhibition/WNT activation protocol, previously used to generate nociceptor-enriched cultures of primary sensory neurons from iPSCs, to favor instead the generation of proprioceptors. The authors succeeded in substantially enriching iPSC-derived primary sensory neuron cultures for proprioceptors, up to 50% of finally differentiated neurons, largely exceeding the proportion of 7.5% normally represented by these cells in dorsal root ganglia. This study also showed that almost pure populations of proprioceptors can be purified from these cultures by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Finally, the authors demonstrated that the protocol can be used to generate proprioceptors from iPSCs from FRDA patients, providing a cell model for this genetic sensory neuronopathy.
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