A procedure for purifying neuron-like cells in cultures from central nervous tissue with a defined medium.

A serum-free medium (N1) containing the supplements insulin, transferrin, progesterone, putrescine and selenium was used to culture cells from a variety of embryonic chick central nervous system tissues, namely, optic lobe, neural retina, spinal cord and telencephalon. The N1 medium supported the survival of fiber-bearing cells (features typical of cultured neurons) as well as or better than horse serum, while permitting no, or almost no flat cells. Survival and growth of chick flat cells required fetal calf, but not horse serum. Cultivation of newborn mouse telencephalon under these conditions yielded similar results, except that either fetal calf or horse serum supported flat cells.