I keep reading that N2B27 media is used in neural cell culture proliferation and stem cell culture maintenance. Do this media maintain pluripotency or does it direct differentiation. which pathways does it activate or inhibit?
Hello Nart Jan Yaltchen
N2 supplement initiates neural differentiation of cells while B27 will be useful for maintaining the differentiated growth of neurons.
N2 supplement is selective for neuronal cell line and does not support the growth of non-neuronal cells in culture. This supplement is added during the initial phase of culture so that it helps in the initial commitment and differentiation, and expression of post mitotic neurons in culture. The N2 supplement formulation includes insulin, transferrin, progesterone, putrescine, and selenium.
The B27 supplement formulation includes many of the same components as N-2 supplement, but also includes the thyroid hormone T3, fatty acids, and antioxidants, such as vitamin E and glutathione. Several components of B27 supplement (enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants at optimized concentrations) have shown the ability for long term survival of neurons including growth and maintenance of neural stem cells and human pluripotent stem cell (PSC) derived neurons, supporting healthy neuron growth including neurite development, synapse formation and neurotransmitter release in primary cells.
You may want to refer to the articles attached below for more information.
Article Neurobasal medium/B27 supplement: a new serum-free medium co...
Article NS21: Re-defined and Modified Supplement B27 for Neuronal Cultures
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0946672X10000088
Best.
Malcolm Nobre thank you very much for the clarification. Do you have knowledge about their content and which signaling pathways they influence?