In 2012, Shinya Yamanaka was awarded a Nobel Prize for demonstrating
that adult cells can be reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem
cells (iPS cells) using defined factors- Oct3/4, KLF4, Sox2 and c-Myc1
in mouse in 2006 and human in 2007. iPS cells can be differentiated
into human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) and cerebral cortical
neurons (hCCNs) from healthy donors and patients. Traditionally,
animal models have been utilised for disease research, however the
genetic and physiological differences between animal and humans means
these results are not always translatable to results in a human
system. By using iPS-derived human cells as an alternative system for
disease modelling and drug discovery, some of these issues can be
overcome. We characterised iPS cell-derived human neural progenitor
cells and their progeny produced using optimised methods to examine
their suitability to model neurobiology in a dish for use in numerous
applications including drug screening and toxicity testing.