Primary Culture of Brain Stem Cells
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Authors
Fitzgerald, Mark P.
Fignar, Brittany E.
Dye, Frank J.
Issue Date
2011-05-14T16:59:37Z
Item Type
Presentation
Language
en_US
Keyword
stem cells , neurospheres , primary culture
Alternative Title
Abstract
Neurospheres are multicellular, spherical clusters of cells derived from brain tissue placed in cell culture. According to the literature, neurospheres are heterogeneous populations consisting of, at least, neural stem and neural progenitor cells. We successfully established primary cultures of neurospheres from fetal mouse brain tissue. Disaggregation and passage of these neurospheres into expansion media lacking growth factors typically necessary for cellular differentiation revealed the formation of strut-like cellular structures with associated smaller cells. We hypothesize that these struts are conglomerates of neurons, and the smaller motile cells
associated with them are glial cells involved in their maintenance. The motility of the small cells was revealed by time-lapse videomicrography.