Protocols for Neural Cell Culture

Tissue culture has become an indispensable tool in the realm of biomedical research, finding widespread use in clinical diagnosis, toxicology, and industrial biotechnology. Developments in tissue culture technology will continue to have a great impact on many other areas in the foreseeable future. In order to work effectively in neuroscience today, it is essential that every biomedical researcher be well-versed in tissue culture technology. Protocols for Neural Cell Culture provides a practical tutorial on tissue culture techniques that every neuroscientist needs to master. Highlighting the best and latest methods, Fedoroff and Richardson have selected only proven protocols that are routinely used in major laboratories, and in most cases, those which they and their colleagues have employed successfully for many years. Experts on neural tissue culture have contributed well-designed chapters to this volume, presenting information on and procedures for: studying myelination by oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells isolating and growing glial cells, including astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia quantification of cells in culture and growth assays evaluating neuroactive agents applying neurochemistry to the study of neural cells, identification of antigens, preparation of cultures for electron microscopic analysis, and the care and use of dissecting instruments. An especially helpful feature of Protocols for Neural Cell Culture is the presentation of the protocols as they are used in the authors' laboratories. The book also stresses the importance of sterile techniques in order to minimize the use of antibiotics. Where applicable, a general discussion of the technique is included, based on the extensive experience of the editors, encompassing over 40 years of research and teaching. Comprehensive, thorough, and easy to follow, Protocols for Neural Cell Culture is an outstanding bench- and deskside manual.