Isolation and Differentiation of Neurons and Glial Cells from Olfactory Epithelium in Living Subjects

• Published in: Molecular neurobiology Vol. 60; no. 8; pp. 4472 - 4487
• Main Authors: Unzueta-Larrinaga, Paula, Barrena-Barbadillo, Rocío, Ibarra-Lecue, Inés, Horrillo, Igor, Villate, Aitor, Recio, Maria, Meana, J. Javier, Diez-Alarcia, Rebeca, Mentxaka, Oihane, Segarra, Rafael, Etxebarria, Nestor, Callado, Luis F., Urigüen, Leyre
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.08.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Basement Membrane - cytology; Biomarkers - analysis; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brain research; Cell Adhesion; Cell Biology; Cell culture; Cell Culture Techniques - methods; Cell Differentiation; Cell Proliferation; Cell Separation - methods; Cells, Cultured; Cerebrospinal fluid; Culture Media - chemistry; Flow Cytometry; Glial cells; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Magnetics; Mental disorders; Neural Stem Cells - cytology; Neurobiology; Neurogenesis; Neuroglia - cytology; Neurological diseases; Neurology; Neuronal-glial interactions; Neurons - cytology; Neurosciences; Neurospheres; Olfactory epithelium; Olfactory Mucosa - cytology; Olfactory receptor neurons; Organ Specificity; Original; Original Article; Pluripotency; Sensory neurons; Stem cells; Olfactory epithelium; Glia; PSA-NCAM; Neurons; Neurospheres; Neuropsychiatric diseases
• ISSN: 0893-7648; 1559-1182; 1559-1182
• DOI: 10.1007/s12035-023-03363-2

The study of psychiatric and neurological diseases requires the substrate in which the disorders occur, that is, the nervous tissue. Currently, several types of human bio-specimens are being used for research, including postmortem brains, cerebrospinal fluid, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, and induced neuronal (iN) cells. However, these samples are far from providing a useful predictive, diagnostic, or prognostic biomarker. The olfactory epithelium is a region close to the brain that has received increased interest as a research tool for the study of brain mechanisms in complex neuropsychiatric and neurological diseases. The olfactory sensory neurons are replaced by neurogenesis throughout adult life from stem cells on the basement membrane. These stem cells are multipotent and can be propagated in neurospheres, proliferated in vitro and differentiated into multiple cell types including neurons and glia. For all these reasons, olfactory epithelium provides a unique resource for investigating neuronal molecular markers of neuropsychiatric and neurological diseases. Here, we describe the isolation and culture of human differentiated neurons and glial cells from olfactory epithelium of living subjects by an easy and non-invasive exfoliation method that may serve as a useful tool for the research in brain diseases.