Electrical and Electronic Engineering - Research Publications

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    WDR62 Regulates Early Neural and Glial Progenitor Specification of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
    Alshawaf, AJ ; Antonic, A ; Skafidas, E ; Ng, DC-H ; Dottori, M (HINDAWI LTD, 2017)
    Mutations in WD40-repeat protein 62 (WDR62) are commonly associated with primary microcephaly and other developmental cortical malformations. We used human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) to examine WDR62 function during human neural differentiation and model early stages of human corticogenesis. Neurospheres lacking WDR62 expression showed decreased expression of intermediate progenitor marker, TBR2, and also glial marker, S100β. In contrast, inhibition of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signalling during hPSC neural differentiation induced upregulation of WDR62 with a corresponding increase in neural and glial progenitor markers, PAX6 and EAAT1, respectively. These findings may signify a role of WDR62 in specifying intermediate neural and glial progenitors during human pluripotent stem cell differentiation.
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    Graphene foam as a biocompatible scaffold for culturing human neurons
    D'Abaco, GM ; Mattei, C ; Nasr, BK ; Hudson, EJ ; Alshawaf, AJ ; Chana, G ; Everall, IP ; Nayagam, B ; Dottori, M ; Skafidas, E (ROYAL SOC, 2018-03)
    In this study, we explore the use of electrically active graphene foam as a scaffold for the culture of human-derived neurons. Human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived cortical neurons fated as either glutamatergic or GABAergic neuronal phenotypes were cultured on graphene foam. We show that graphene foam is biocompatible for the culture of human neurons, capable of supporting cell viability and differentiation of hESC-derived cortical neurons. Based on the findings, we propose that graphene foam represents a suitable scaffold for engineering neuronal tissue and warrants further investigation as a model for understanding neuronal maturation, function and circuit formation.
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    Phenotypic and Functional Characterization of Peripheral Sensory Neurons derived from Human Embryonic Stem Cells
    Alshawaf, AJ ; Viventi, S ; Qiu, W ; D'Abaco, G ; Nayagam, B ; Erlichster, M ; Chana, G ; Everall, I ; Ivanusic, J ; Skafidas, E ; Dottori, M (NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, 2018-01-12)
    The dorsal root ganglia (DRG) consist of a multitude of sensory neuronal subtypes that function to relay sensory stimuli, including temperature, pressure, pain and position to the central nervous system. Our knowledge of DRG sensory neurons have been predominantly driven by animal studies and considerably less is known about the human DRG. Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) are valuable resource to help close this gap. Our previous studies reported an efficient system for deriving neural crest and DRG sensory neurons from hESC. Here we show that this differentiation system gives rise to heterogeneous populations of sensory neuronal subtypes as demonstrated by phenotypic and functional analyses. Furthermore, using microelectrode arrays the maturation rate of the hESC-derived sensory neuronal cultures was monitored over 8 weeks in culture, showing their spontaneous firing activities starting at about 12 days post-differentiation and reaching maximum firing at about 6 weeks. These studies are highly valuable for developing an in vitro platform to study the diversity of sensory neuronal subtypes found within the human DRG.