We characterized phenotype and function of a fetal human mesencephalic cell line (LUHMES, Lund human mesencephalic) as neuronal model system. Neurodevelopmental profiling of the proliferation stage (d0, day 0) of these conditionally-immortalized cells revealed neuronal features, expressed simultaneously with some early neuroblast and stem cell markers. An optimized 2-step differentiation procedure, triggered by shut-down of the myc transgene, resulted in uniformly post-mitotic neurons within 5 days (d5). This was associated with down-regulation of some precursor markers and further up-regulation of neuronal genes. Neurite network formation involved the outgrowth of 1-2, often > 500 lm long projections. They showed dynamic growth cone behavior, as evidenced by time-lapse imaging of stably GFP-overexpressing cells. Voltage-dependent sodium channels and spontaneous electrical activity of LUHMES continuously increased from d0 to d11, while levels of synaptic markers reached their maximum on d5. The developmental expression patterns of most genes and of the dopamine uptake-and release-machinery appeared to be intrinsically predetermined, as the differentiation proceeded similarly when external factors such as dibutyryl-cAMP and glial cell derived neurotrophic factor were omitted. Only tyrosine hydroxylase required the continuous presence of cAMP. In conclusion, LUHMES are a robust neuronal model with adaptable phenotype and high value for neurodevelopmental studies, disease modeling and neuropharmacology.

Exposure to the antiepileptic drug valproic acid (VPA) during gestation causes neurofunctional and anatomic deficits in later life. At present, there are little human data on how early neural development is affected by chemicals. We used human embryonic stem cells, differentiating to neuroectodermal precursors, as a model to investigate the modes of action of VPA. Microarray expression profiling, qPCR of specific marker genes, immunostaining and the expression of green fluorescent protein under the control of the promoter of the canonical neural precursor cell marker HES5 were used as readouts. Exposure to VPA resulted in distorted marker gene expression, characterized by a relative increase in NANOG and OCT4 and a reduction in PAX6. A similar response pattern was observed with trichostatin A, a potent and specific histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), but not with several other toxicants. Differentiation markers were disturbed by prolonged, but not by acute treatment with HDACi, and the strongest disturbance of differentiation was observed by toxicant exposure during early neural fate decision. The increased acetylation of histones observed in the presence of HDACi may explain the up-regulation of some genes. However, to understand the down-regulation of PAX6 and the overall complex transcript changes, we examined further epigenetic markers. Alterations in the methylation of lysines 4 and 27 of histone H3 were detected in the promoter region of PAX6 and OCT4. The changes in these activating and silencing histone marks provide a more general mechanistic rational for the regulation of developmentally important genes at non-cytotoxic drug concentrations.

The superordinate principles governing the transcriptome response of differentiating cells exposed to drugs are still unclear. Often, it is assumed that toxicogenomics data reflect the immediate mode of action (MoA) of drugs. Alternatively, transcriptome changes could describe altered differentiation states as indirect consequence of drug exposure. We used here the developmental toxicants valproate and trichostatin A to address this question. Neurally differentiating human embryonic stem cells were treated for 6 days. Histone acetylation (primary MoA) increased quickly and returned to baseline after 48 h. Histone H3 lysine methylation at the promoter of the neurodevelopmental regulators PAX6 or OTX2 was increasingly altered over time. Methylation changes remained persistent and correlated with neurodevelopmental defects and with effects on PAX6 gene expression, also when the drug was washed out after 3–4 days. We hypothesized that drug exposures altering only acetylation would lead to reversible transcriptome changes (indicating MoA), and challenges that altered methylation would lead to irreversible developmental disturbances. Data from pulse-chase experiments corroborated this assumption. Short drug treatment triggered reversible transcriptome changes; longer exposure disrupted neurodevelopment. The disturbed differentiation was reflected by an altered transcriptome pattern, and the observed changes were similar when the drug was washed out during the last 48 h. We conclude that transcriptome data after prolonged chemical stress of differentiating cells mainly reflect the altered developmental stage of the model system and not the drug MoA. We suggest that brief exposures, followed by immediate analysis, are more suitable for information on immediate drug responses and the toxicity MoA.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00204-014-1279-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Epigenetic changes, including histone modifications or chromatin remodeling are regulated by a large number of human genes. We developed a strategy to study the coordinate regulation of such genes, and to compare different cell populations or tissues. A set of 150 genes, comprising different classes of epigenetic modifiers was compiled. This new tool was used initially to characterize changes during the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) to central nervous system neuroectoderm progenitors (NEP). qPCR analysis showed that more than 60% of the examined transcripts were regulated, and >10% of them had a >5-fold increased expression. For comparison, we differentiated hESC to neural crest progenitors (NCP), a distinct peripheral nervous system progenitor population. Some epigenetic modifiers were regulated into the same direction in NEP and NCP, but also distinct differences were observed. For instance, the remodeling ATPase SMARCA2 was up-regulated >30-fold in NCP, while it remained unchanged in NEP; up-regulation of the ATP-dependent chromatin remodeler CHD7 was increased in NEP, while it was down-regulated in NCP. To compare the neural precursor profiles with those of mature neurons, we analyzed the epigenetic modifiers in human cortical tissue. This resulted in the identification of 30 regulations shared between all cell types, such as the histone methyltransferase SETD7. We also identified new markers for post-mitotic neurons, like the arginine methyl transferase PRMT8 and the methyl transferase EZH1. Our findings suggest a hitherto unexpected extent of regulation, and a cell type-dependent specificity of epigenetic modifiers in neurodifferentiation.

Despite an abundance of studies on chromatin states and dynamics, there is an astonishing dearth of information on the expression of genes responsible for regulating histone and DNA modifications. We used here a set of 156 defined epigenetic modifier genes (EMG) and profiled their expression pattern in cells of different lineages. As reference value, expression data from human embryonic stem cells (hESC) were used. Hepatocyte-like cells were generated from hESC, and their EMG expression was compared to primary human liver cells. In parallel, we generated postmitotic human neurons (Lu d6), and compared their relative EMG expression to human cortex (Ctx). Clustering analysis of all cell types showed that neuronal lineage samples grouped together (94 similarly regulated EMG), as did liver cells (61 similarly-regulated), while the two lineages were clearly distinct. The general classification was followed by detailed comparison of the major EMG groups; genes that were higher expressed in differentiated cells than in hESC included the acetyltransferase KAT2B and the methyltransferase SETD7. Neuro-specific EMGs were the histone deacetylases HDAC5 and HDAC7, and the arginine-methyltransferase PRMT8. Comparison of young (Lu d6) and more aged (Ctx) neuronal samples suggested a maturation-dependent switch in the expression of functionally homologous proteins. For instance, the ratio of the histone H3 K27 methyltransfereases, EZH1 to EZH2, was high in Ctx and low in Lu d6. The same was observed for the polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) subunits CBX7 and CBX8. A large proportion of EMGs in differentiated cells was very differently expressed than in hESC, and absolute levels were significantly higher in neuronal samples than in hepatic cells. Thus, there seem to be distinct qualitative and quantitative differences in EMG expression between cell lineages.