Optogenetic Control of Neural Stem Cell Differentiation

Cells are constantly sensing and responding to extracellular stimuli in the environment, which is manifested as activation or inactivation of different intracellular signaling pathways, in which receptors receive the stimuli and activate a cascade of signaling proteins to regulate cellular processes such as transcription, cell division, or migration, to name a few. The nervous system development relies heavily on cell-cell or cell-autonomous signaling. For instance, neural progenitors produce neurons at the early embryonic stage but switch to a gliogenic fate at the later stages, differentiating into astrocytes and oligodendrocyte precursors. To infect neural progenitors, the neurospheres at day 4 in vitro are dissociated using Accutase digestion and resuspended in the culture medium. The lentivirus particles are added to the cell suspension. The facial area of the sacrificed mouse is soaked to sterilize in a mixed solution consisting of 3% medical hydrogen peroxide product, and 1% medical povidone iodine solution.