This work was funded (in part) by the Helmholtz Alliance ICEMED - Imaging and Curing Environmental Metabolic Diseases, through the Initiative and Network Fund of the Helmholtz Association, a grant from the Else Kroener-Fresenius Foundation, and a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 655: Cells into tissues).

The work adheres to the Declaration of Helsinski and the ARVO Animal Statement. Animals were used for tissue collection and all relevant methods were followed according to the instructions of the animal facility at the University of Dresden. Animals were handled and housed according to the German Federal guidelines for the use and care of laboratory animals, and the study was approved by the Landesdirektion Dresden. Please consult with your institution&#8217;s veterinary policy (IACUC or other board) regarding appropriat...

<ol>
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R., Rakic, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Continuation+of+neurogenesis+in+the+hippocampus+of+the+adult+macaque+monkey.">Continuation of neurogenesis in the hippocampus of the adult macaque monkey.</a> Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 96, 5768-5773 (1999).</li><li>Alvarez-Buylla, A., Kohwi, M., Nguyen, T. M., Merkle, F. T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+heterogeneity+of+adult+neural+stem+cells+and+the+emerging+complexity+of+their+niche.">The heterogeneity of adult neural stem cells and the emerging complexity of their niche.</a> Cold Spring Harb. Symp. Quant. Biol. 73, 357-365 (2008).</li><li>Reynolds, B. 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D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=CNS+stem+cells+express+a+new+class+of+intermediate+filament+protein.">CNS stem cells express a new class of intermediate filament protein.</a> Cell. 60, 585-595 (1990).</li><li>Androutsellis-Theotokis, A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Targeting+neural+precursors+in+the+adult+brain+rescues+injured+dopamine+neurons.">Targeting neural precursors in the adult brain rescues injured dopamine neurons.</a> Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 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Neurobiol. 34, 153-161 (2006).</li><li>Duarte, A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Dosage-sensitive+requirement+for+mouse+Dll4+in+artery+development.">Dosage-sensitive requirement for mouse Dll4 in artery development.</a> Genes Dev. 18, 2474-2478 (2004).</li><li>Maisonpierre, P. C., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Angiopoietin-2,+a+natural+antagonist+for+Tie2+that+disrupts+in+vivo+angiogenesis.">Angiopoietin-2, a natural antagonist for Tie2 that disrupts in vivo angiogenesis.</a> Science. 277, 55-60 (1997).</li><li>Androutsellis-Theotokis, A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Notch+signalling+regulates+stem+cell+numbers+in+vitro+and+in+vivo.">Notch signalling regulates stem cell numbers in vitro and in vivo.</a> Nature. 442, 823-826 (2006).</li><li>Alderson, R. F., Alterman, A. L., Barde, Y. A., Lindsay, R. 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Many of the steps critical to successful isolation, expansion, and differentiation of neural stem cells from the adult brain are shared in common with standard tissue culture techniques. The objective to bear in mind is that NSCs isolated from the adult brain should maintain as many of their in vivo&#160;characteristics as possible (Figure 2J). Often a balance between necessary caution and appropriate speed needs to be struck. Care with the isolation of the brain from the skull will make the ide...

The central dogma of neurobiology, laid down by the fundamental observations of the brain cytoarchitecture made by Ram&#243;n Y. Cajal over a century ago, held that neurogenesis was unlikely after adolescence given the complexity of the neural networks found in the CNS1. Despite the work of Altman in the 1960s, and later Kaplan, demonstrating that 3H-thymidine could be found in mature neurons indicating that in fact neurons were being generated in distinct areas of the adult brain, the dogma continued to hold2,3. Evidence continued to mount with Nottebohm&#8217;s research describing the seasonal changes in the number of neurons present in songbird brains4. It wasn&#8217;t until 1999, when Gould et al. published work on the generation of neurons in the hippocampus increases with the performance of associative learning tasks in rat, as well as the observations of Kornack and Rakic demonstrating continued neurogenesis in the adult macaque that the concept of a less rigid, more plastic brain, was recognized5,6.
The search for the cellular source for these de novo generated neurons lead to the discovery of a discrete population of stem cells (SCs) that reside in areas of the brain referred to as niches7. The subventricular zone and sub granular zone of the hippocampus are considered to be the two principal neurogenic regions8,9. Cells isolated from these locations display the classic characteristic of embryonic or fetal derived SCs, self-renewal and differentiation potential. In the case of neural stem cells (NSCs), they can be differentiated into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. In addition, these SCs &#160;stain positive for fetal NSC markers such as the intermediate filament protein nestin10. More recent work highlights that SCs might not be limited to these two areas, and are in fact localized throughout the brain as a largely quiescent population of cells tightly associated with the vasculature11.
The observations that SCs are mobilized in response to injury suggests the possibility of being able to utilize these cells for regenerative purposes to aid in the recovery from neurodegenerative disorder and stroke12,13. This is not unlike the role that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) &#160;play in the healing of connective tissues, which are found as perivascular cells that have the potential to become osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and adipose cells14. However, NSCs cannot be harvested in the same manner as MSCs from bone marrow by routine aspiration and density gradient centrifugation techniques and subsequently utilized in autologous cell based therapies. As a consequence, other sources of cells, such as the use of fetal NSCs or neuronal precursors derived from embryonic stem cells have been extensively explored in animal disease and injury models with varying degrees of success15. Induced pluripotent stem cell technologies utilizing somatic cell sources offer another potential avenue for producing therapeutically useful cell-based therapies for a wide range of applications, overcoming the limited availability and ethical concerns regarding the use of embryonic cells and fetal tissues16. However, clinical translation of these findings has proven to be a difficult task, as demonstrated in the struggles of treating various neurological conditions with SC-based therapeutic approaches17,18, as well as a tortuous path to regulatory clearance. As an alternative approach, introduction of specific pharmacological treatments can modulate NSC numbers and facilitate recovery in models of Parkinson&#8217;s disease and stroke19. Whatever the strategy might be, understanding how to effectively manipulate these cells requires an accessible in vitro system.
Cultures of NSCs can be performed either as aggregate cultures, also known as neurospheres, or as a monolayer8,20. Both techniques have been widely used, allowing for the establishment of defined culture conditions, i.e. use of Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) or basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF) as a mitogen source, that provide for the expansion of multipotent precursors. While neurosphere cultures may be better suited for studying clonal propagation capability of an isolated cell type, the system has been shown to produce a mixed population of cells during expansion21. In addition, the closed structure of neurospheres makes pharmacological manipulation of the cells impractical, and the interpretation of the influence these factors may have could be confounded due to the microenvironment established within the neurosphere itself. Monolayer cultures, on the other hand, can be employed in high throughput screens of small molecule libraries, providing a powerful tool to explore the signal transduction mechanisms that regulate SC growth and differentiation and opens the opportunity to discover novel compounds that specifically target this cell population.
As a consequence, the ability to reproducibly generate cultures of adult NSCs from different regions of interest in the brain can be used in a broad spectrum of research applications, ranging from developmental studies of the central nervous system (CNS) to exploring novel regenerative medicine approaches. The protocol presented here demonstrates how to dissect and assess the differentiation potential of CNS SCs isolated from the adult rodent brain.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="596">
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		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
	</colgroup>
	<tbody>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">6-well tissue culture dishes</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">BD Biosciences</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">353934</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="105">
			<td height="190" rowspan="1" style="height:190px;width:216px;">Poly-L-ornithine</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:95px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:119px;">P-3655</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">
			5 mg/ml stock solution prepared in double distilled water (Stable for several months at -20 &#176;C).
			Working concentration 0.5 mg/ml in water (Stable for 1 month at 4 &#176;C).
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Fibronectin</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">R&#38;D Systems</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">1030-Fn</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Do not agitate stock solution</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Filtration Apparatus</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Corning Life Sciences</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">430769</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="64">
			<td height="64" style="height:64px;width:216px;">DMEM/F-12</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Mediatech</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">10-090-CV</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">See note below for complete N2 media preparation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Apo-transferrin</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">T-2036</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Insulin</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">I-0516</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="68">
			<td height="68" style="height:68px;width:216px;">Putrescine</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">P-5780</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">1 M stock solution in ddH2O (Stable at 20 &#176;C for 6 months)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="68">
			<td height="68" style="height:68px;width:216px;">Sodium Selenite</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">S-5261</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">500 &#181;M stock solution in ddH2O (Stable at -20 &#176;C for 6 months)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="64">
			<td height="64" style="height:64px;width:216px;">Progesterone</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">P-8783</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">100 &#181;M stock solution in ethanol (Stable at -20&#176;C for 6 months)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;width:216px;">Penicillin/Streptomycin</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Invitrogen</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">15140-122</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;width:216px;">Phosphate Buffered Saline</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Mediatech</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">21-040-CV</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF)</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">R&#38;D Systems</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">233-FB</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Working concentration 20 ng/ml&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Delta4 (Dll4)</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">R&#38;D Systems</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">1389-D4</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Working concentration&#160; 500 ng/ml</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Angiopoetin 2 (Ang2)</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">R&#38;D Systems</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">623-AN</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Working concentration&#160; 500 ng/ml</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">JAK Inhibitor</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Calbiochem</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">420099</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Working concentration 200 nM&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Bovine Serum Albumin</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">A-2058</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">15- and 50-ml Conical tubes</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Corning Life Sciences</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">430053, 430829</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="243">
			<td colspan="4" height="243" style="height:243px;width:596px;">Other necessary items include: General dissection instruments, including razor blade and forceps, Adult rat (3-6 months old; Sprague-Dawley or Long Evans), CO2 intoxication chamber, Laminar flow hood for cell culture and incubator Incubator (humidified, 37 &#176;C, 5% CO2, 5% O2). Note: For complete N2 media preparation, to one bottle of DMEM/F-12 (500 ml) add 0.05 g of apotransferin, 0.0125 g of insulin (freshly predissolved in 1 ml of 10 mM NaOH), 50 &#956;l of putrescine, 30 &#956;l of sodium selenite, 100 &#956;l of progesterone stocks, and 5 ml of penicillin/streptomycin solution.&#160; Adjust pH to 7.2, if needed. Filter-sterilize and store at 4 &#176;C for up to 3 weeks and protect from light.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;"></td>
			<td style="width:95px;"></td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td>[header]</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td colspan="2" height="22" style="height:22px;"></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Immunofluorescence Reagents Table</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="64">
			<td height="64" style="height:64px;width:216px;">Paraformaldehyde</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Electron Microscopy Sciences</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">15719</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Normal Donkey Serum (NDS)</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">D-9663</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Triton X-100</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">T-8787</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="43">
			<td height="43" style="height:43px;width:216px;">4,6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI)</td>
			<td style="width:95px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">D-8417</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">5 mg/ml stock solution in methanol</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;"></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>[header]</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;width:216px;"></td>
			<td style="width:95px;"></td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Primary Antibody Table</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="43" rowspan="1" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Nestin</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:95px;">Chemicon</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:119px;">MAB353</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">
			Dilution Factor: 1:400
			Species: Mouse IgG1
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="43" rowspan="1" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Hes3</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:95px;">Santa Cruz</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:119px;">sc-25393</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">
			Dilution Factor: 1:100
			Species: Rabbit IgG
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="43" rowspan="1" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Sox2</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:95px;">R&#38;D Systems</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:119px;">MAB2018&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">
			Dilution Factor: 1:100
			Species: Mouse IgG2a
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="43" rowspan="1" style="height:43px;width:216px;">CNPase</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:95px;">Chemicon</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:119px;">MAB326</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">
			Dilution Factor: 1:200
			Species: Mouse IgG1
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="43" rowspan="1" style="height:43px;width:216px;">&#946;-tubulin III (TUJ1)</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:95px;">R&#38;D Systems</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:119px;">MAB1195</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">
			Dilution Factor: 1:500
			Species: Mouse IgG2a
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="43" rowspan="1" style="height:43px;width:216px;">Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP)</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:95px;">Dako North America</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:119px;">Z0334</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">
			Dilution Factor 1:500
			Species: Rabbit
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;"></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>[header]</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;width:216px;"></td>
			<td style="width:95px;"></td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Secondary Antibody Table</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="64" rowspan="1" style="height:64px;width:216px;">Alexa&#160;&#160; 568</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:95px;">Invitrogen</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:119px;">A-21124</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">
			Dilution Factor: 1:200
			Species: Goat anti Mouse IgG1
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="64" rowspan="1" style="height:64px;width:216px;">Alexa 488</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:95px;">Invitrogen</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:119px;">A-21131</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">
			Dilution Factor: 1:200
			Species: Goat anti Mouse IgG2a
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="64" rowspan="1" style="height:64px;width:216px;">Cy5</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:95px;">Jackson ImmunoResearch</td>
			<td rowspan="1" style="width:119px;">59883</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">
			Dilution Factor: 1:200
			Species: Goat anti Rabbit
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

growing neural stem cells from conventional and nonconventional regions of the adult rodent brain

Recent work demonstrates that central nervous system (CNS) regeneration and tumorigenesis involves populations of stem cells (SCs) resident within the adult brain. However, the mechanisms these normally quiescent cells employ to ensure proper functioning of neural networks, as well as their role in recovery from injury and mitigation of neurodegenerative processes are little understood. These cells reside in regions referred to as &#34;niches&#34; that provide a sustaining environment involving modulatory signals from both the vascular and immune systems. The isolation, maintenance, and differentiation of CNS SCs under defined culture conditions which exclude unknown factors, makes them accessible to treatment by pharmacological or genetic means, thus providing insight into their in vivo behavior. Here we offer detailed information on the methods for generating cultures of CNS SCs from distinct regions of the adult brain and approaches to assess their differentiation potential into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes in vitro. This technique yields a homogeneous cell population as a monolayer culture that can be visualized to study individual SCs and their progeny. Furthermore, it can be applied across different animal model systems and clinical samples, being used previously to predict regenerative responses in the damaged adult nervous system.

Identifying the region of interest from which to harvest neural stem cells is the critical first step and will define the amount of time it takes to get a confluent plate of cells. For example, the SVZ is a classic neurogenic area and therefore has a higher relative proportion of neural stem cells. However, the technique presented here can be used with other regions not often recognized as having a robust neurogenic potential during adulthood. For the purposes of this protocol, we used the anterior commissure (anterior p...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Growing Neural Stem Cells from Conventional and Nonconventional Regions of the Adult Rodent Brain at JoVE.com

Growing Neural Stem Cells from Conventional and Nonconventional Regions of the Adult Rodent Brain

Neural stem cells harvested from the adult brain are increasing utilized in applications ranging from the basic research of nervous system development to exploring potential clinical applications in regenerative medicine. This makes rigorous control in the isolation and culturing conditions used to grow these cells critical to sound experimental outcomes.

Recent work demonstrates that central nervous system (CNS) regeneration and tumorigenesis involves populations of stem cells (SCs) resident within the ...

growing-neural-stem-cells-from-conventional-nonconventional-regions

Research

JoVE Journal

Neuroscience

12.0K Views.  University of Dresden. Neural stem cells harvested from the adult brain are increasing utilized in applications ranging from the basic research of nervous system development to exploring potential clinical applications in regenerative medicine. This makes rigorous control in the isolation and culturing conditions used to grow these cells critical to sound experimental outcomes. 