Differentiation of LA-N-5 neuroblastoma cells into cholinergic neurons: methods for differentiation, immunohistochemistry and reporter gene introduction.

The use of model systems derived from cell lines has been a valuable tool in understanding the molecules and cellular processes that govern differentiation processes (T.R. Breitman, S.E. Selonick, S.J. Collins, Induction of differentiation of the human promyelocytic leukemia cell line (HL-60) by retinoic acid, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77 (1980) 2936-2940 [2]; N. Gomez, S. Traverse, P. Cohen, Identification of a MAP kinase in phaeochromocytoma (PC12) cells, FEBS Lett. 314 (1992) 461-465 [4]). The use of such systems provides an inexpensive, quick and simple way to identify and test molecules that can be further studied in more complex in vivo experiments. Some cell lines such as embryonic stem cells can be induced to differentiate in vitro, however, the differentiation is difficult to control and most often leads to the generation of a wide variety of cell types. Cell lines derived from sources committed to a restricted cell fate provide an opportunity to examine cell growth and differentiation within a specific cell type (G.M. Keller, In vitro differentiation of embryonic stem cells, Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 7 (1995) 862-869 [10]). In this article we describe a simple system for the differentiation of the human neuroblastoma cell line LA-N-5 into cholinergic neurons using all-trans retinoic acid (G. Han, B. Chang, M.J. Connor, N. Sidell, Enhanced potency of 9-cis versus all-trans retinoic acid to induce the differentiation of human neuroblastoma cells, Differentiation, 59 (1995) 61-69 [5]; D.P. Hill, K.R. Robertson, Characterization of the cholinergic neuronal differentiation of the human neuroblastoma cell line LA-N-5 after treatment with retinoic acid, Dev. Brain Res. 102 (1997) 53-67 [6]; J.A. Robson, N. Sidell, Ultrastructural features of a human neuroblastoma cell line treated with retinoic acid, Neuroscience 14 (1985) 1149-1162 [12]; N. Sidell, C.A. Lucas, G.W. Kreutzberg, Regulation of acetylcholinesterase activity by retinoic acid in a human neuroblastoma cell line, Exp. Cell Res. 155 (1984) 305-309 [14]). These cells provide a setting for the study of cholinergic neuronal differentiation and of the factors that influence that process. We also discuss procedures that can be used to study gene expression in LA-N-5 cells by immunohistochemistry and reporter gene analysis. Copyright 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.