Quantification of microglial contact and engulfment of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in the rodent brain

Abstract

Summary: Microglia have emerged as essential regulators of neurodevelopment by phagocytosing synapses. Recently, we showed that microglia engulf viable oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) during development to facilitate myelination. Here, we describe a protocol to quantify microglial engulfment of whole cells using 3D confocal microscopy to differentiate microglial contact. This protocol can be applied to assess whole-cell engulfment in a variety of contexts and cell types.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Nemes-Baran et al. (2020).

Keywords

• Cell Biology
• Microscopy
• Model Organisms
• Neuroscience