Microglia Isolation from Neural Stem Cell-Enriched Regions

Microglia are the resident immune cell of the central nervous system and are instrumental in detecting and eliminating invading pathogens and debris. They also play key roles in neural development, neurodegeneration, and maintaining microenvironment homeostasis. The relatively low number of microglia that can be isolated from primary dissociates precludes many in vitro assays from being efficiently conducted. Here we describe a method to isolate large numbers of functional microglia in a repeatable fashion using serially expanded cultures derived from neurogenic regions of the brain.