In Vitro Effects of Acitretin on Human Neuronal SH-SY5Y Cells

Acitretin is an oral drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration that is commonly used to treat psoriasis. In recent years, acitretin has been identified as a candidate drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, but its role in neuronal development is still unclear. In this study, the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y was used as a model to study neuronal differentiation. We found that acitretin effectively promoted the differentiation of SH-SY5Y cells into neuronal cells and upregulated the expression of the neuronal marker beta-III tubulin and the mature neuronal marker NFH. Differentially expressed genes were identified by RNA sequencing and analyzed by bioinformatics approaches. The results showed that genes associated with neuron development-related pathways, such as SSPO and KCNT1, had significant changes in expression. Analysis showed that PRKCA and CAMK2B may play important roles in the process by which acitretin promotes neurodevelopment. Through whole-cell patch clamping and a microelectrode array assay, we found that acitretin-treated neurons generated electrical spikes similar to those generated by mature neurons. This study provided evidence to support an accessible and safe model of neuron-like cells and verified that acitretin can promote the differentiation of neurons and has the potential to treat brain tumors and neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases.

Automated summary

This study investigated the role of Acitretin in neuronal differentiation using the SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line. The results showed that Acitretin effectively promoted the differentiation of SH-SY5Y cells into neuronal cells and upregulated the expression of neuronal markers. RNA sequencing analysis identified significant changes in genes associated with neuron development. Whole-cell patch clamping and microelectrode array assays demonstrated that Acitretin-treated neurons exhibited electrical activity similar to mature neurons. This study provides evidence for a reliable neuron-like cell model and validates the potential of Acitretin in neuronal differentiation and the treatment of related diseases.