Varghese Kucku, Das Mainak, Bhargava Neelima, Stancescu Maria, Molnar Peter, Kindy Mark S, Hickman James J
NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, 12424 Research parkway, Suite# 400, Orlando, FL 32826, USA.
J Neurosci Methods. 2009 Feb 15;177(1):51-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2008.09.022. Epub 2008 Oct 7.
Although the majority of human illnesses occur during adulthood, most of the available in vitro disease models are based upon cells obtained from embryonic/fetal tissues because of the difficulties involved with culturing adult cells. Development of adult mouse neuronal cultures has a special significance because of the abundance of transgenic disease models that use this species. In this study a novel cell culture method has been developed that supports the long-term survival and physiological regeneration of adult mouse hippocampal cells in a serum-free defined environment. In this well-defined, controlled system, adult mouse hippocampal cells survived for up to 21 days in culture. The cultured cells exhibited typical hippocampal neuronal morphology and electrophysiological properties after recovery from the trauma of dissociation, and stained positive for the expected neuronal markers. This system has great potential as an investigative tool for in vitro studies of adult diseases, the aging brain or transgenic models of age-associated disorders.
