Isolation and culture of pure adult mouse microglia and astrocytes for in vitro characterization and analyses

Mark T. Milner; Grace MEP. Lawrence; Caroline L. Holley; Liviu-Gabriel Bodea; Jürgen Götz; Sabrina S. Burgener; Kate Schroder

STAR Protocols (Jun 2022)

Isolation and culture of pure adult mouse microglia and astrocytes for in vitro characterization and analyses

Mark T. Milner,
Grace MEP. Lawrence,
Caroline L. Holley,
Liviu-Gabriel Bodea,
Jürgen Götz,
Sabrina S. Burgener,
Kate Schroder

Affiliations

Mark T. Milner: Institute for Molecular Bioscience and IMB Centre for Inflammation and Disease Research, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
Grace MEP. Lawrence: Institute for Molecular Bioscience and IMB Centre for Inflammation and Disease Research, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
Caroline L. Holley: Institute for Molecular Bioscience and IMB Centre for Inflammation and Disease Research, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
Liviu-Gabriel Bodea: Clem Jones Centre for Ageing and Dementia Research, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
Jürgen Götz: Clem Jones Centre for Ageing and Dementia Research, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
Sabrina S. Burgener: Institute for Molecular Bioscience and IMB Centre for Inflammation and Disease Research, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; Corresponding author
Kate Schroder: Institute for Molecular Bioscience and IMB Centre for Inflammation and Disease Research, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; Corresponding author

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 3, no. 2
p. 101295

Abstract

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Summary: Microglia and astrocytes are implicated in aging and age-related diseases. Here, we present a protocol to isolate and culture these glia cells from the murine brain. The protocol consists of two parts: magnetic sorting of adult microglia and mechanical/magnetic sorting of adult microglia and astrocytes. We then describe the characterization of these glial cells by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. Microglia isolated from aged mice maintain age-related phenotype during culture. These purified glia cells can be applied in ex vivo studies.

Published in STAR Protocols

ISSN: 2666-1667 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science: Science (General)
Website: https://star-protocols.cell.com/

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Abstract

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