University Rostock Medical Center

Here we describe the use of a self-assembling 3-dimensional scaffold to culture human neural progenitor cells. We present a protocol to release the cells from the scaffolds to be analysed subsequently e.g. by flow cytometry. This protocol might be adapted to other cell types to perform detailed mechanistically studies.

A method of gene transfer into chicken embryos at later incubation stages (older than Hamburger and Hamilton stage (HH) 22) is described. This method overcomes disadvantages of in ovo electroporation applied to older chicken embryos and is a useful technique to study gene function and regulation at older developmental stages.

There is a demand to make pre-clinical testing for a novel class of "orphan" drugs called pharmacological chaperones reproducible, fast, and efficient. We developed a simple, highly standardized, and versatile cell culture-based assay to screen for eligible patients as well as novel pharmacological chaperone drugs.