Isolation of glia from mice

Glia constitutes a heterogeneous cell population that makes up half of the cells in the central nervous system (CNS). Glial cells include macroglia, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, and microglia. Their roles are very diverse but overall they orchestrate CNS formation and function by providing neurons with essential support. Although glia-derived immortalized cell lines are now available, primary cultures of glial cells still constitute the most reliable method to study glial functions as the primary cultures retain important characteristics and markers of glia from their normal brain environment. Isolation and culturing of glia from postnatal rodent brain is well-characterized and give higher yield than from adult brain. Therefore, isolation of glial cells from postnatal mouse brains, with an emphasis on microglia, will be described. It will include a protocol describing the steps of isolation and necessary equipments and reagents, as well as the subsequent cell culture monitoring and potential applications.