Isolation of adult mouse microglia using their in vitro adherent properties

Zoe Woolf; Taylor J Stevenson; Kevin Lee; Yewon Jung; Thomas I H Park; Maurice A Curtis; Johanna M Montgomery; Michael Dragunow

doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100518

Isolation of adult mouse microglia using their in vitro adherent properties

STAR Protoc. 2021 May 6;2(2):100518. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100518. eCollection 2021 Jun 18.

Authors

Zoe Woolf^{1

2}, Taylor J Stevenson^{2

3}, Kevin Lee^{2

4}, Yewon Jung^{2

4}, Thomas I H Park^{1

2}, Maurice A Curtis^{2

3}, Johanna M Montgomery^{2

4}, Michael Dragunow^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, Private Bag 92019, New Zealand.
² Centre for Brain Research, The University of Auckland, Auckland, Private Bag 92019, New Zealand.
³ Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging, The University of Auckland, Auckland, Private Bag 92019, New Zealand.
⁴ Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, Private Bag 92019, New Zealand.

Abstract

Microglia are the primary innate immune effectors of the central nervous system. Although numerous protocols have been developed to isolate fetal mouse microglia, the isolation of adult mouse microglia has proven more difficult. Here, we present a simple, widely accessible protocol to isolate pure microglia cultures from 4- to 14-month-old mouse brains using their adherent properties in vitro. These isolated microglia recapitulate the adherent properties of adult human microglia and present a more suitable model for studying age-related diseases. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol in adult human microglia, please refer to Rustenhoven et al. (2016).

Keywords: Cell culture; Cell isolation; Neuroscience.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aging / immunology*
Animals
Brain / cytology
Brain / immunology*
Cell Separation*
Mice
Microglia / cytology
Microglia / immunology*