Protocol for culturing neurospheres from progenitor cells in the dentate gyrus of aged mouse hippocampus.

Olga Vafaeva, Poommaree Namchaiw, Karl Murray, Elva Diaz, Hwai-Jong Cheng

Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA. · pubmed

Paper

Abstract

The neurosphere assay is the gold standard for assessing the proliferative and differentiation capacities of neural progenitor cells (NPCs). Here, we present a protocol for isolating, propagating, and maintaining hippocampal neurospheres from adult and aged mice and differentiating cultured NPCs into neurons and astrocytes. We describe steps for establishing a heterochronic co-culture of neurosphere-derived cells with primary neurons. Using neurospheres from old animals enables investigation of the effects of aging on the development and differentiation of newborn neurons.

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Research summary

The paper presents a protocol for culturing neurospheres from aged mouse hippocampus to study the effects of aging on neural progenitor cell differentiation. This research is relevant as it investigates cellular mechanisms related to aging, which could contribute to understanding and potentially addressing age-related decline in neurogenesis.

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