Scientists grow human serotonin neurons in petri dish

Serotonin, a neurotransmitter involved in regulating mood and mental states, has been linked to numerous neurological and mental illnesses, including depression. But because there has been no way to obtain live human serotonin neurons to study these diseases, most serotonin research has been done on lab animals.

Now, University at Buffalo researchers have generated human serotonin neurons from human fibroblasts, the cells that give rise to connective tissue in the body. The researchers say that their findings are applicable to generating many other previously inaccessible human cell types, providing a boon to medical research and drug discovery.

Our work demonstrates that the precious serotonin neurons hidden deep inside the human brain can now be created in a petri dish," said lead author Jian Feng, PhD, professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

The UB research demonstrates the first direct conversion of human fibroblasts into serotonergic neurons, Feng said. These "induced serotonergic neurons" behave like serotonin neurons in the human brain.

"We know the cells were converted to serotonergic neurons because they express proteins that are only found in neurons that produce serotonin," Feng explained. "They are electrophysiologically active and demonstrate both the controlled release and the selective uptake of serotonin."