Cellular Zinc Homeostasis Contributes to Neuronal Differentiation in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Disturbances in neuronal differentiation and function are an underlying factor of many brain disorders. Zinc homeostasis and signaling are important mediators for a normal brain development and function, given that zinc deficiency was shown to result in cognitive and emotional deficits in animal mod...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Stefanie Pfaender, Karl Föhr, Anne-Kathrin Lutz, Stefan Putz, Kevin Achberger, Leonhard Linta, Stefan Liebau, Tobias M. Boeckers, Andreas M. Grabrucker
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-01-01
Series:Neural Plasticity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/3760702
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850159382866690048
author Stefanie Pfaender
Karl Föhr
Anne-Kathrin Lutz
Stefan Putz
Kevin Achberger
Leonhard Linta
Stefan Liebau
Tobias M. Boeckers
Andreas M. Grabrucker
author_facet Stefanie Pfaender
Karl Föhr
Anne-Kathrin Lutz
Stefan Putz
Kevin Achberger
Leonhard Linta
Stefan Liebau
Tobias M. Boeckers
Andreas M. Grabrucker
author_sort Stefanie Pfaender
collection DOAJ
description Disturbances in neuronal differentiation and function are an underlying factor of many brain disorders. Zinc homeostasis and signaling are important mediators for a normal brain development and function, given that zinc deficiency was shown to result in cognitive and emotional deficits in animal models that might be associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. One underlying mechanism of the observed detrimental effects of zinc deficiency on the brain might be impaired proliferation and differentiation of stem cells participating in neurogenesis. Thus, to examine the molecular mechanisms regulating zinc metabolism and signaling in differentiating neurons, using a protocol for motor neuron differentiation, we characterized the expression of zinc homeostasis genes during neurogenesis using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and evaluated the influence of altered zinc levels on the expression of zinc homeostasis genes, cell survival, cell fate, and neuronal function. Our results show that zinc transporters are highly regulated genes during neuronal differentiation and that low zinc levels are associated with decreased cell survival, altered neuronal differentiation, and, in particular, synaptic function. We conclude that zinc deficiency in a critical time window during brain development might influence brain function by modulating neuronal differentiation.
format Article
id doaj-art-ae6fcb3ac2e34526aebd098301d867d4
institution OA Journals
issn 2090-5904
1687-5443
language English
publishDate 2016-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Neural Plasticity
spelling doaj-art-ae6fcb3ac2e34526aebd098301d867d42025-08-20T02:23:34ZengWileyNeural Plasticity2090-59041687-54432016-01-01201610.1155/2016/37607023760702Cellular Zinc Homeostasis Contributes to Neuronal Differentiation in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem CellsStefanie Pfaender0Karl Föhr1Anne-Kathrin Lutz2Stefan Putz3Kevin Achberger4Leonhard Linta5Stefan Liebau6Tobias M. Boeckers7Andreas M. Grabrucker8Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, GermanyDepartment of Anaesthesiology, University of Ulm, 89081 Ulm, GermanyInstitute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, GermanyInstitute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, GermanyInstitute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, GermanyInstitute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, GermanyInstitute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, GermanyInstitute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, GermanyInstitute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, GermanyDisturbances in neuronal differentiation and function are an underlying factor of many brain disorders. Zinc homeostasis and signaling are important mediators for a normal brain development and function, given that zinc deficiency was shown to result in cognitive and emotional deficits in animal models that might be associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. One underlying mechanism of the observed detrimental effects of zinc deficiency on the brain might be impaired proliferation and differentiation of stem cells participating in neurogenesis. Thus, to examine the molecular mechanisms regulating zinc metabolism and signaling in differentiating neurons, using a protocol for motor neuron differentiation, we characterized the expression of zinc homeostasis genes during neurogenesis using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and evaluated the influence of altered zinc levels on the expression of zinc homeostasis genes, cell survival, cell fate, and neuronal function. Our results show that zinc transporters are highly regulated genes during neuronal differentiation and that low zinc levels are associated with decreased cell survival, altered neuronal differentiation, and, in particular, synaptic function. We conclude that zinc deficiency in a critical time window during brain development might influence brain function by modulating neuronal differentiation.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/3760702
spellingShingle Stefanie Pfaender
Karl Föhr
Anne-Kathrin Lutz
Stefan Putz
Kevin Achberger
Leonhard Linta
Stefan Liebau
Tobias M. Boeckers
Andreas M. Grabrucker
Cellular Zinc Homeostasis Contributes to Neuronal Differentiation in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Neural Plasticity
title Cellular Zinc Homeostasis Contributes to Neuronal Differentiation in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
title_full Cellular Zinc Homeostasis Contributes to Neuronal Differentiation in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
title_fullStr Cellular Zinc Homeostasis Contributes to Neuronal Differentiation in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
title_full_unstemmed Cellular Zinc Homeostasis Contributes to Neuronal Differentiation in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
title_short Cellular Zinc Homeostasis Contributes to Neuronal Differentiation in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
title_sort cellular zinc homeostasis contributes to neuronal differentiation in human induced pluripotent stem cells
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/3760702
work_keys_str_mv AT stefaniepfaender cellularzinchomeostasiscontributestoneuronaldifferentiationinhumaninducedpluripotentstemcells
AT karlfohr cellularzinchomeostasiscontributestoneuronaldifferentiationinhumaninducedpluripotentstemcells
AT annekathrinlutz cellularzinchomeostasiscontributestoneuronaldifferentiationinhumaninducedpluripotentstemcells
AT stefanputz cellularzinchomeostasiscontributestoneuronaldifferentiationinhumaninducedpluripotentstemcells
AT kevinachberger cellularzinchomeostasiscontributestoneuronaldifferentiationinhumaninducedpluripotentstemcells
AT leonhardlinta cellularzinchomeostasiscontributestoneuronaldifferentiationinhumaninducedpluripotentstemcells
AT stefanliebau cellularzinchomeostasiscontributestoneuronaldifferentiationinhumaninducedpluripotentstemcells
AT tobiasmboeckers cellularzinchomeostasiscontributestoneuronaldifferentiationinhumaninducedpluripotentstemcells
AT andreasmgrabrucker cellularzinchomeostasiscontributestoneuronaldifferentiationinhumaninducedpluripotentstemcells