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Updated: May 29, 2026
Culturing Microglia from the Neonatal and Adult Central Nervous System
Published on: August 9, 2013
Proliferating culture of aged microglia for the study of neurodegenerative diseases
Rommy von Bernhardi1, Juan Tichauer, Laura Eugenín-von Bernhardi
1Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Marcoleta 391, Santiago, Chile. rvonb@med.puc.cl
Abstract:
Microglial cells' phenotype and function change with aging. Since microglial cell impairments that are relevant for neurodegenerative diseases appear to be unique to aged individuals, it is important to assess function of aged microglia. However, most studies are done with microglia from neonates, mostly due to lack of reliable protocols to obtain microglia from adult animals. Here, we present a conditioned media-dependent culture system that promotes proliferation of adult microglia. We observed that inflammatory activation was increasingly oxidative in microglia from aged animals. Also, whereas phagocytosis of Aβ by microglia from adult animals was more robust than that of microglia from neonates, the induction of phagocytosis by TGFβ was abolished in aged animals. Our results show the importance of using adult animals cells for the study of neurodegenerative processes or other diseases associated with aging. The proposed culture method is inexpensive and cell yield allows for their assessment by functional bioassays and biochemistry.
Insights
Aging impairs microglial function, increasing oxidative stress and altering amyloid-beta (Aβ) phagocytosis. A new culture method allows studying aged microglia, crucial for understanding neurodegenerative diseases.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Microglial cells, the immune cells of the brain, undergo significant changes with aging.
- These age-related changes in microglia are implicated in neurodegenerative diseases.
- Current research often uses neonatal microglia due to a lack of reliable methods for culturing adult microglia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a reliable method for culturing adult microglia.
- To investigate the functional and phenotypic changes in microglia from aged animals.
- To compare the function of aged microglia with neonatal microglia, particularly in response to inflammatory and phagocytic stimuli.
Main Methods:
- Development of a conditioned media-dependent culture system to promote adult microglia proliferation.
- Assessment of inflammatory activation, focusing on oxidative stress markers.
- Evaluation of phagocytosis of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides.
- Investigation of the effect of transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) on phagocytosis.
Main Results:
- The new culture system successfully promotes the proliferation of adult microglia.
- Microglia from aged animals exhibit increased oxidative stress during inflammatory activation.
- Phagocytosis of Aβ by adult microglia is more robust than that of neonatal microglia.
- The induction of Aβ phagocytosis by TGFβ is abolished in aged microglia.
Conclusions:
- It is crucial to use microglia from adult animals for studying aging-associated neurodegenerative diseases.
- The developed culture method is cost-effective and yields sufficient cells for functional and biochemical analyses.
- Aged microglia display distinct functional impairments, including altered inflammatory responses and phagocytosis, highlighting their role in age-related neurological conditions.
