Flow cytometry of isolated cells from the brain.

Cells isolated from rat and bovine brain were analyzed on a two-parameter, flowing, cell-sorting system. All preparations of rat neurons and bovine oligodendroglia were found to transverse the flowing system intact. Rat neurons were successfully maintained in culture medium for several days after passage through the sorter. With the use of low-angle light-scatter measurements, bovine oligodendroglial populations which had been maintained in culture medium for several days were sorted into two cell populations: phase-bright cells, which exhibited bright fluorescence after incubating with fluoresceindiacetate, and phase-dark cells, which were dark in fluorescence. In addition, morphologically heterogeneous rat neuron populations were separated into relatively homogeneous subpopulations. Bovine oligodendroglia and rat neurons exhibited autofluorescence which appears to be related to the flavoproteins within the cells. The autofluorescence of neurons increased dramatically during the first few days of maintenance and approached a plateau after four to five days. An enriched population of oligodendroglia was obtained from mixed cell populations of rat brain.