Generation of cultured oligodendrocyte progenitor cells from rat neonatal brains

The oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) is one of the most studied progenitor cells of the body. It has been extensively researched in tissue culture and more recently in vivo using a wide range of markers that recognize transcription factors and cell surface markers and identify its earliest development from neural stem cells onward. Isolation of OPCs in large numbers and in purified preparations has been sought after as a source of cells for the repair of human myelin disorders. It has been proposed that such cells could be used as an exogenous source of cells for the treatment of lesions in multiple sclerosis and the less common genetic myelin disorders such as Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease. Prior to clinical trials, such approaches can be tested in animal models. Here, we describe the isolation of rat OPCs in culture conditions that provide large numbers of purified populations of cells.