HEK-293 cell line and primary rat hippocampal neurons transfection using CombiMag

HEK-293 and primary rat hippocampal neurons (DIV 3) weretransfected using the Magnetofection-based transfection reagent CombiMag.

This work demonstrates the high efficiency of Magnetofection method to transfect primary neurons (vagal affernt) with DNA using Magnetofection method. CombiMag from OZ Biosciences was used in this paper.

paper reference: Cereb Cortex. 2013 Jun;23(6):1484-94. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhs138.

An Epilepsy-Related ARX Polyalanine Expansion Modifies Glutamatergic Neurons Excitability and Morphology Without Affecting GABAergic Neurons Development.
Beguin S, Crépel V, Aniksztejn L, Becq H, Pelosi B, Pallesi-Pocachard E, Bouamrane L, Pasqualetti M, Kitamura K, Cardoso C, Represa A.

Abstract

Epileptic encephalopathies comprise a heterogeneous group of severe infantile disorders for which the pathophysiological basis of epilepsy is inaccurately clarified by genotype-phenotype analysis. Because a deficit of GABA neurons has been found in some of these syndromes, notably in patients with X-linked lissencephaly with abnormal genitalia, epilepsy was suggested to result from an imbalance in GABAergic inhibition, and the notion of "interneuronopathy" was proposed. Here, we studied the impact of a polyalanine expansion of aristaless-related homeobox (ARX) gene, a mutation notably found in West and Ohtahara syndromes. Analysis of Arx((GCG)7/Y) knock-in mice revealed that GABA neuron development is not affected. Moreover, pyramidal cell migration and cortical layering are unaltered in these mice. Interestingly, electrophysiological recordings show that hippocampal pyramidal neurons displayed a frequency of inhibitory postsynaptic currents similar to wild-type (WT) mice. However, these neurons show a dramatic increase in the frequency of excitatory inputs associated with a remodeling of their axonal arborization, suggesting that epilepsy in Arx((GCG)7/Y)mice would result from a glutamate network remodeling. We therefore propose that secondary alterations are instrumental for the development of disease-specific phenotypes and should be considered to explain the phenotypic diversity associated with epileptogenic mutations.

CombiMag from OZ Biosciences is a very efficient transfection reagent based on Magnetofection™ technology.