Isolation and characterisation of proliferating cells from the telencephalic vesicles of gestational-day 13 rats

A method of isolating in culture a specific subpopulation of cells in the "S" phase of the mitotic cycle, from embryonic forebrain, is described. Different enzyme treatment and different substratum pretreatment are compared quantitatively to ensure optimal yield. These cells, isolated from the telencephalic vesicles of embryonic day (E) 13 rat embryos, were maintained in culture and their morphological and immunocytochemical characteristics were investigated at one and eight days in vitro.