Culturing and Expansion of Precursor Cells from the Adult Hippocampus
It is now well established that a resident population of neural precursor cells continues to generate new neurons in the adult hippocampus throughout life. Numerous studies have suggested that these newborn neurons preferentially participate in the functional hippocampal circuitry that leads to enhancement of learning, cognition and mood. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate the activity of these endogenous precursor cells is paramount to develop novel regenerative strategies for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders. The neurosphere assay has been instrumental in discovering the presence of stem and precursor cell population from several brain regions. In this chapter, we describe this assay to specifically isolate and culture neural stem and precursor cell populations from the adult hippocampus of mice. In addition, we provide methods to conduct detailed assays to examine their functional properties such as proliferation, self-renewal, and differentiation.
- The 3xTg-AD Mouse Model: Reproducing and Modulating Plaque and Tangle Pathology
- Excitatory Amino Acid Receptors
- Neural Networks Predict Protein Structure and Function
- Neuronal Morphology in the Drosophila Embryo: Visualisation, Digital Reconstruction and Quantification
- Intraperitoneal Injection as a Method of Psychotropic Drug Delivery in Adult Zebrafish
- The Generation of Receptor-Selective Antibodies
- Endogenous Brain Protection: Models, Gene Expression, and Mechanisms
- An Overview of Drug Delivery to the CNS
- Caged Intracellular Messengers and the Inositol Phosphate Signaling Pathway
- Genetic Models of Cerebellar Dysfunction