An Indirect Neuron-Astrocyte Co-Culture Technique for Studying Neuron-Glia Interactions

Abstract

Source: Gottschling, C. et al., The Indirect Neuron-astrocyte Coculture Assay: An In Vitro Set-up for the Detailed Investigation of Neuron-glia Interactions. J. Vis. Exp. (2016)

This video illustrates a method for establishing an indirect neuron-astrocyte co-culture using a compartmentalized approach. In this setup, neurons and astrocytes are spatially separated but share a conditioned medium. Neurotrophic factors released by astrocytes promote neuron differentiation and the formation of synaptic connections, suggesting neuron-glia interactions.

Protocol

All procedures involving animal models have been reviewed by the local institutional animal care committee and the JoVE veterinary review board.

1. Preparation and Cultivation of Cortical Astrocytes

NOTE: Complete these steps of the protocol at least 7 d before proceeding to the next steps, as the astrocyte cultures should develop into confluent monolayers before the neurons are prepared. Primary astrocytes are derived from mixed glial cultures obtained from mouse pups around postnatal day (P) 0-3. Three brains (6 cortices) per T75 flask are to be used.

1. Prepare the as....

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Reagents
B27	Gibco (Life Technologies)	17504-044
Cell culture grade water	MilliQ
Cell culture grade water	MilliQ
Cytosine-ß-D arabinofuranoside (AraC)	Sigma-Aldrich	C1768	CAUTION: H317, H361
DMEM	Gibco (Life Technologies)	41966-029
DNAse	Worthington	LS002007
Gentamycin	Sigma-Aldrich	G1397	CAUTION: H317-334
Glucose	Serva	22700
HBSS	Gibco (Life Technologies)	14170-088
HEPES	Gibco (Life Technologies)	15630-056
Horse serum	Biochrom AG	S9135
L-Cysteine	Sigma-Aldrich	C-2529
MEM	Gibco (Life Technologies)	31095-029
Ovalbumin	Sigma-Aldrich	A7641	CAUTION: H334
Papain	Worthington	3126
PBS	self-made
Poly-D-lysine	Sigma-Aldrich	P0899
Poly-L-ornithine	Sigma-Aldrich	P3655
Sodium pyruvate	Sigma-Aldrich	S8636
Trypsin-EDTA	Gibco (Life Technologies)	25300054
Equipment
24 well plates	Thermoscientific/Nunc	142475
24-wells plate (for the  indirect co-culture)	BD Falcon	353504
Binocular	Leica	MZ6
Cell-culture inserts	BD Falcon	353095
Centrifuge	Heraeus	Multifuge 3S-R
Counting Chamber	Marienfeld	650010
Forceps	FST Dumont (#5)	11254-20
Glass cover slips (12 mm)	Carl Roth (Menzel- Gläser)	P231.1
Incubator	Thermo Scientific	Heracell 240i
Micro tube (2 ml)	Sarstedt	72,691
Microscope	Leica	DMIL
Millex Syringe-driven filter unit	Millipore	SLGV013SL
Orbital shaker	New Brunswick Scientific	Innova 4000
Parafilm	Bemis	PM-996
Petri dishes (10 cm)	Sarstedt	8,33,902
Pipette (1 ml)	Gilson	Pipetman 1000
Sterile work bench	The Baker Company	Laminar Flow SterilGARD III
Surgical scissors	FST Dumont	14094-11
Syringe	Henry Schein	9003016
T75 flask	Sarstedt	83,39,11,002
Tube (15 ml)	Sarstedt	6,45,54,502
Water bath	GFL	Water bath type 1004