A new method for primary culture of microglia in rats with spinal cord injury

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2022 Apr 9:599:63-68. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2022.02.027. Epub 2022 Feb 9.

Abstract

At present, the primary culture method of microglia is complicated, and the culture of spinal cord microglia is rare, so we will explore to establish a new and efficient primary culture method of microglia in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI). The SCI model of SD rats was established by modified A11en's method, and the model of SCI was performed on 1 d, 3 d, 7 d and 14 d respectively. Then the injured spinal cord was removed, mechanically separated and filtered. The morphology of microglia was observed the next day and its purity was identified by CD11b and Iba1 immunofluorescence labeling. According to the above results, the morphological changes of microglia after 3 d of SCI were observed at 1 d, 2 d and 4 d. The results showed that the purity of microglia was 98%. The number of microglia after 3 d of SCI was the most. After SCI, the migration ability of microglia was enhanced, the number of microglia in the injured area increased, and the number was the highest at 3 d, then gradually decreased. In addition, the microglia after SCI would gradually change from active state to resting state with the passage of time. Therefore, we can use a simple and efficient mechanical separation method to extract primary microglia, which provides the basis for the study of microglia.

Keywords: Mechanical isolation; Microglia; Primary culture; Spinal cord injury.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Culture Techniques / methods*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Microglia / cytology*
  • Microglia / pathology
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Spinal Cord Injuries / pathology*