Adult human brain cell culture – drug screening, discovery and mode of action
  • Cooper E, Choi PJ, Hwang K, Nam KM, Kim CY, Shaban T, Schweder P, Mee E, Correia J, Turner C, Faull RLM, Denny WA, Noguchi K, Dragunow M, Jose J, Park TI. Elucidating the cellular uptake mechanisms of heptamethine cyanine dye analogues for their use as an anticancer drug-carrier molecule for the treatment of glioblastoma. Chem Biol Drug Des.2023;101(3):696-716.
  • Cooper E, Oyagawa C, Johnson R, Choi P, Mapagal-Foliaki J, Correia J, Schweder P, Heppner P, Mee E, Turner C, Faull R, Denny W, Dragunow M, Jose J, Park T. Involvement of the tumour necrosis factor receptor system in glioblastoma cell death induced by palbociclib-heptamethine cyanine dye conjugate. Cell Commun Signal. 2023 (in press). 
  • Park TI, Smyth LCD, Aalderink M, Woolf ZR, Rustenhoven J, Lee K, Jansson D, Smith A, Feng S, Correia J, Heppner P, Schweder P, Mee E, Dragunow M. Routine culture and study of adult human brain cells from neurosurgical specimens. Nat Protoc. 2022;17(2):190-221. This article details the methods used for the culture and study of human brain cells from neurosurgical donors.
  • Scotter EL, Cao MC, Jansson D, Rustenhoven J, Smyth LCD, Aalderink MC, Siemens A, Fan V, Wu J, Mee EW, Faull RLM, Dragunow M. The amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-linked protein TDP-43 regulates interleukin-6 cytokine production by human brain pericytes. Mol Cell Neurosci. 2022;123:103768.\
  • Stevenson TJ, Johnson RH, Savistchenko J, Rustenhoven J, Woolf Z, Smyth LCD, Murray HC, Faull RLM, Correia J, Schweder P, Heppner P, Turner C, Melki R, Dieriks BV, Curtis MA, Dragunow M. Pericytes take up and degrade α-synuclein but succumb to apoptosis under cellular stress. Sci Rep. 2022;12(1):17314.
  • Wu YH, Park TI, Kwon E, Feng S, Schweder P, Dragunow M, Shim V, Rosset S. Analyzing pericytes under mild traumatic brain injury using 3D cultures and dielectric elastomer actuators. Front Neurosci. 2022;16:994251.
  • Dieriks BV, Highet B, Alik A, Bellande T, Stevenson TJ, Low V, Park TI, Correia J, Schweder P, Faull RLM, Melki R, Curtis MA, Dragunow M. Human pericytes degrade diverse α-synuclein aggregates. PLoS One. 2022 ;17(11):e0277658.
  • Scotter EL, Cao MC, Jansson D, Rustenhoven J, Smyth LCD, Aalderink MC, Siemens A, Fan V, Wu J, Mee EW, Faull RLM, Dragunow M. The amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-linked protein TDP-43 regulates interleukin-6 cytokine production by human brain pericytes. Mol Cell Neurosci. 2022;123:103768.
  • Jansson D, Dieriks VB, Rustenhoven J, Smyth LCD, Scotter E, Aalderink M, Feng S, Johnson R, Schweder P, Mee E, Heppner P, Turner C, Curtis M, Faull R, Dragunow M. Cardiac glycosides target barrier inflammation of the vasculature, meninges and choroid plexus. Commun Biol. 2021;4(1):260.
  • Stubbing LA., Kaur H, Feng SX, Aalderink M, Dragunow M, Brimble MA. Synthesis of peptide homo‐ and heterodimers as potential mimics of platelet‐derived growth factor BB. Pept Sci. 2020;112.
  • Choi PJ, Cooper E, Schweder P, Mee E, Turner C, Faull R, Denny WA, Dragunow M, Park TI, Jose J. PARP inhibitor cyanine dye conjugate with enhanced cytotoxic and antiproliferative activity in patient derived glioblastoma cell lines. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2020;30(14):127252.
  • Rustenhoven J, Smith AM, Smyth LC, Jansson D, Scotter EL, Swanson MEV, Aalderink M, Coppieters N, Narayan P, Handley R, Overall C, Park TIH, Schweder P, Heppner P, Curtis MA, Faull RLM, Dragunow M. PU.1 regulates Alzheimer's disease-associated genes in primary human microglia. Mol Neurodegener. 2018;13(1):44.
  • Dieriks BV, Park TI, Fourie C, Faull RL, Dragunow M, Curtis MA. α-synuclein transfer through tunneling nanotubes occurs in SH-SY5Y cells and primary brain pericytes from Parkinson's disease patients. Sci Rep. 2017;7:42984.
  •  Jansson D, Scotter EL, Rustenhoven J, Coppieters N, Smyth LC, Oldfield RL, Bergin PS, Mee EW, Graham ES, Faull RL, Dragunow M. Interferon-γ blocks signalling through PDGFRβ in human brain pericytes. J Neuroinflammation. 2016;13(1):249.
  • Dragunow M, Feng S, Rustenhoven J, Curtis M, Faull R. Studying Human Brain Inflammation in Leptomeningeal and Choroid Plexus Explant Cultures. Neurochem Res. 2016 Mar;41(3):579-88. Erratum in: Neurochem Res. 2016;41(4):943.
  • Rustenhoven J, Park TI, Schweder P, Scotter J, Correia J, Smith AM, Gibbons HM, Oldfield RL, Bergin PS, Mee EW, Faull RL, Curtis MA, Scott Graham E, Dragunow M. Isolation of highly enriched primary human microglia for functional studies. Sci Rep. 2016;6:19371.
  • Park TI, Feisst V, Brooks AE, Rustenhoven J, Monzo HJ, Feng SX, Mee EW, Bergin PS, Oldfield R, Graham ES, Curtis MA, Faull RL, Dunbar PR, Dragunow M. Cultured pericytes from human brain show phenotypic and functional differences associated with differential CD90 expression. Sci Rep. 2016;6:26587.
  • Rustenhoven J, Aalderink M, Scotter EL, Oldfield RL, Bergin PS, Mee EW, Graham ES, Faull RL, Curtis MA, Park TI, Dragunow M. TGF-beta1 regulates human brain pericyte inflammatory processes involved in neurovasculature function. J Neuroinflammation. 2016;13:37.
  • Rustenhoven J, Scotter EL, Jansson D, Kho DT, Oldfield RL, Bergin PS, Mee EW, Faull RL, Curtis MA, Graham SE, Park TI, Dragunow M. An anti-inflammatory role for C/EBPδ in human brain pericytes. Sci Rep. 2015;5:12132.
  •  Jansson D, Rustenhoven J, Feng S, Hurley D, Oldfield RL, Bergin PS, Mee EW, Faull RL, Dragunow M. A role for human brain pericytes in neuroinflammation. J Neuroinflammation. 2014 Jun 11;11:104. Erratum in: J Neuroinflammation. 2015;12:213.
  • Smith AM, Gibbons HM, Oldfield RL, Bergin PM, Mee EW, Faull RL, Dragunow M. The transcription factor PU.1 is critical for viability and function of human brain microglia. Glia. 2013;61(6):929-42.
  • Park TI, Waldvogel HJ, Montgomery JM, Mee EW, Bergin PS, Faull RL, Dragunow M, Curtis MA. Identifying neural progenitor cells in the adult human brain. Methods Mol Biol. 2013;1059:195-225.
  • Smith AM, Gibbons HM, Lill C, Faull RL, Dragunow M. Isolation and culture of adult human microglia within mixed glial cultures for functional experimentation and high-content analysis. Methods Mol Biol. 2013;1041:41-51.
  • Smith AM, Gibbons HM, Oldfield RL, Bergin PM, Mee EW, Curtis MA, Faull RL, Dragunow M. M-CSF increases proliferation and phagocytosis while modulating receptor and transcription factor expression in adult human microglia. J Neuroinflammation. 2013;10:85.
  • Smith AM, Graham ES, Feng SX, Oldfield RL, Bergin PM, Mee EW, Faull RL, Curtis MA, Dragunow M. Adult human glia, pericytes and meningeal fibroblasts respond similarly to IFNy but not to TGFβ1 or M-CSF. PLoS One. 2013;8(12):e80463.
  • Park TI, Monzo H, Mee EW, Bergin PS, Teoh HH, Montgomery JM, Faull RL, Curtis MA, Dragunow M. Adult human brain neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and fibroblast-like cells have similar properties in vitro but only NPCs differentiate into neurons. PLoS One. 2012;7(6):e37742.
  • Gibbons HM, Smith AM, Teoh HH, Bergin PM, Mee EW, Faull RL, Dragunow M. Valproic acid induces microglial dysfunction, not apoptosis, in human glial cultures. Neurobiol Dis. 2011;41(1):96-103. 
  • Axell MZ, Zlateva S, Curtis M. A method for rapid derivation and propagation of neural progenitors from human embryonic stem cells. J Neurosci Methods. 2009;184(2):275-84.
  • Gibbons HM, Hughes SM, Van Roon-Mom W, Greenwood JM, Narayan PJ, Teoh HH, Bergin PM, Mee EW, Wood PC, Faull RL, Dragunow M. Cellular composition of human glial cultures from adult biopsy brain tissue. J Neurosci Methods. 2007;166(1):89-98.