Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 19, 2025
Primary Microglia Isolation from Mixed Glial Cell Cultures of Neonatal Rat Brain Tissue
Published on: August 15, 2012
Protocol for sex-specific isolation of microglia, oligodendrocyte precursor cells, and astrocytes from neonatal rats
Gen Hamanaka1, Tomonori Hoshino1, Hidehiro Ishikawa2
1Neuroprotection Research Laboratories, Departments of Radiology and Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129-2000, USA.
Abstract:
Disease-related glial changes often show sex-specific differences, yet protocols for sex-specific isolation are limited. Here, we present a protocol for sex-specific isolation of microglia, oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), and astrocytes from neonatal rats using the shake-off technique. We describe steps for determining pup sex at post-natal days 1-2 and for dissecting, dissociating, and plating cortex cells. We then detail isolation procedures for each cell type. Downstream applications include immunocytochemistry, quantitative PCR, and RNA sequencing to assess cell-specific functions.
