Reagin Katie L, Lee Rae-Ling, Funk Kristen E
Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Curr Protoc. 2025 Aug;5(8):e70199. doi: 10.1002/cpz1.70199.
Aging is associated with elevated levels of inflammation across tissues, a status recognized as "inflammaging." Within the brain, microglia are the resident phagocytic immune cells that are important in both homeostatic and disease states. Aged microglia are susceptible to processes of "inflammaging," which can include higher expression of baseline levels of inflammatory signals, decline in functional activity, and contribution to neurodegenerative processes. Information about microglial function has been gained using in vitro cell culture methods; however, most studies described previously have used microglia cultured from neonatal mice. More recent studies have used microglia cultured from young adult mice, but those using microglia from aged mice are lacking. Considering the distinct changes that come with aging and the important role of microglia in age-related neurologic disorders, there is a need for reliable protocols for studying aged cells specifically. Here, we describe a method to culture primary microglia from aged mice. Collected brain tissue is digested using enzymatic and mechanical techniques and then cultured in specific medium that supports the continued survival and proliferation of adult and aged microglia. To confirm microglial identity, cultured cells were immunostained for microglia-specific markers and imaged by microscopy and flow cytometry. We also compared the activation status of adult and aged microglia that were cultured versus those that were assessed directly after collection. Microglial cultures can easily be manipulated via genetic modifications or pharmacologic intervention to test specific functions. © 2025 The Author(s). Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol: Culturing primary microglia from adult and aged mice.
衰老与全身组织炎症水平升高相关,这种状态被称为“炎症衰老”。在大脑中,小胶质细胞是常驻的吞噬性免疫细胞,在稳态和疾病状态下都很重要。衰老的小胶质细胞易受“炎症衰老”过程的影响,这可能包括炎症信号基线水平的更高表达、功能活性下降以及对神经退行性过程的影响。关于小胶质细胞功能的信息已通过体外细胞培养方法获得;然而,之前描述的大多数研究使用的是新生小鼠培养的小胶质细胞。最近的研究使用了成年小鼠培养的小胶质细胞,但使用老年小鼠小胶质细胞的研究却很缺乏。考虑到衰老带来的明显变化以及小胶质细胞在与年龄相关的神经疾病中的重要作用,需要有专门研究老年细胞的可靠方案。在这里,我们描述了一种从老年小鼠中培养原代小胶质细胞的方法。收集的脑组织采用酶解和机械技术进行消化,然后在支持成年和老年小胶质细胞持续存活和增殖的特定培养基中培养。为了确认小胶质细胞的身份,对培养的细胞进行小胶质细胞特异性标志物的免疫染色,并通过显微镜和流式细胞术成像。我们还比较了培养的成年和老年小胶质细胞与收集后直接评估的小胶质细胞的激活状态。小胶质细胞培养物可以很容易地通过基因改造或药物干预来测试特定功能。© 2025作者。由Wiley Periodicals LLC出版的《当前方案》。基本方案:从成年和老年小鼠中培养原代小胶质细胞。