Fig. 3.

Schematic diagram of astrocyte differentiation. The differentiation of astrocytes from pluripotent stem cell colonies follows the early neuronal developmental progress through spherical and adherent culture stages. Glial progenitor formation is triggered by the supplementation of EGF and FGF2, with CNTF being required for transition to mature astrocytes and aided by the neurotrophic factor NRG1β. The presence or absence of developmental and maturation markers are essential guides to monitor the differentiation progress at each culturing stage towards mature, functional astrocytes