Characterization of human dopaminergic neuronal cells

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most frequent neurodegenerative diseases. Despite intensive research no curative drug was developed so far and the mechanisms underlying the disease are not completely clarified yet. During the last years human non-tumor cell lines got more important in this research field, since they helped to understand key processes. The neuronal LUHMES (Lund human mesencephalic) cells used in this study are such human non-tumor cells. Generated in 2005 in Lund they have been used in over 15 publications in this field ranging from neurodegeneration to developmental toxicity. In order to provide easy accessible and highly standardized cells, LUHMES cells were deposited at the ATCC cell bank in 2006. However, most of the studies using LUHMES cells were performed in the laboratory of Prof. M. Leist at the university of Konstanz using cells that directly originated from Lund. In this study it has been assessed whether these two cell stocks still have similar properties. We could show that ATCC LUHMES display significant differences in the reaction towards the model neurotoxicant MPP+ and in their dopaminergic phenotype compared to LUHMES cells (AG Leist). During MPP+-treatment ATCC LUHMES cells were not affected in their viability to the same extend as LUHMES cells from Prof. Leist.