Isolation, culture, and downstream characterization of primary microglia and astrocytes from adult rodent brain and spinal cord.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Neuroimmunologists aspire to understand the interactions between neurons, microglia, and astrocytes in the CNS. To study these cells, researchers work with either immortalized cell lines or primary cells acquired from animal tissue. Primary cells reflect in vivo characteristics and functionality compared to immortalized cells; however, they are challenging to acquire and maintain.

New method

Established protocols to harvest primary glia use neonatal rodents, here we provide a method for simultaneously isolating microglia and astrocytes from brain and/or spinal cord from adult rodents. We utilized a discontinuous percoll density gradient enabling easy discrimination of these cell populations without enzymatic digestion or complex sorting techniques.

Results

SUBMITTER: Agalave NM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7293863 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature