Protocol to differentiate monolayer human induced pluripotent stem cells into inflammatory responsive astrocytes

Glia, and in particular astrocytes, are one of the major players in neurological and neuroinflammatory disorders. Here, we present a protocol to efficiently generate inflammatory responsive astrocytes from human induced pluripotent stem cells in a monolayer culture. We describe steps for neural differentiation to reach a homogeneous population of neural progenitor cells, followed by their differentiation into neural/glial progenitors. Finally, we detail enrichment to a 90% pure inflammatory responsive astrocyte population. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Giordano et al.1