GluN2A-mediated currents and calcium signal in human iPSC-derived neurons

Gene expression data indicate that during human brain development, neurons change the NMDA receptor (NMDAR) subunit composition to modulate their function, favouring the GluN2A subunit over GluN2B-a hallmark of neuronal maturation. However, evidence supporting this phenomenon in human iPSC-derived n...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Escamilla, S, Avilés-Granados, C, Peralta, FA, Paternain, AV, Cortés-Gómez, MA, Zetterberg, H, de la Peña, E, Salas-Lucia, F, Sáez-Valero, J, Cuchillo-Ibáñez, I
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana (FISABIO)
Repositorio:r-FISABIO. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:r-fisabio___::b4b3250effb3650f92844515dd6de7a8
Acceso en línea:https://fisabio.portalinvestigacion.com/publicaciones/21169
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Cerebral cortex development
Neurodifferentiation
NMDAR
GluN2B
Descripción
Sumario:Gene expression data indicate that during human brain development, neurons change the NMDA receptor (NMDAR) subunit composition to modulate their function, favouring the GluN2A subunit over GluN2B-a hallmark of neuronal maturation. However, evidence supporting this phenomenon in human iPSC-derived neurons remains elusive. Here, using two differentiation methods in parallel (BrainPhys Neuronal Medium, BPM, and Neural Maintenance Medium, NMM), we provide evidence of increased synaptic localization of NMDARs during neuronal maturation and that GluN2A subunit is crucial for the NMDA physiological function-inducing inward currents and calcium entrance at 60 days of differentiation. Calcium responses to specific agonists, particularly NMDA, were elevated in cells cultured under BPM conditions. This is likely attributable to their more mature neuronal phenotype and the RNA-seq identified upregulation of genes involved in intracellular calcium signaling proteins. Our results offer insight into how glutamate receptor subunits mature during brain development, delineating approaches to study NMDAR activity in health and disease.