This work was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grants: NS088206 and ES026892. The W. Eugene and Linda Lloyd Endowed Chair to AGK and Deans Professorship to AK are also acknowledged.

Use of the animals and protocol procedures were approved and supervised by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at Iowa State University (Ames, IA, USA)
1. Growing of Mixed Glial Cultures
<ol>
	<li>Decapitate 1- 2 day-old pups quickly with 5.5 inch operating scissors, and place the heads immediately in a 50 mL tube on ice. Note that this decapitation is the mode of euthanasia.</li>
	<li>In a laminar airflow hood, make a small incision in the skull and meninges usin...

<ol>
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B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=M1+and+M2+immune+activation+in+Parkinson's+Disease:+Foe+and+ally?.">M1 and M2 immune activation in Parkinson's Disease: Foe and ally?.</a> Neuroscience. 302, 59-73 (2015).</li><li>Saijo, K., Glass, C. K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Microglial+cell+origin+and+phenotypes+in+health+and+disease.">Microglial cell origin and phenotypes in health and disease.</a> Nat Rev Immunol. 11 (11), 775-787 (2011).</li><li>Paolicelli, R. 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=Synaptic+pruning+by+microglia+is+necessary+for+normal+brain+development.">Synaptic pruning by microglia is necessary for normal brain development.</a> Science. 333 (6048), 1456-1458 (2011).</li><li>Floden, A. M., Combs, C. K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Microglia+repetitively+isolated+from+in+vitro+mixed+glial+cultures+retain+their+initial+phenotype.">Microglia repetitively isolated from in vitro mixed glial cultures retain their initial phenotype.</a> J Neurosci Methods. 164 (2), 218-224 (2007).</li><li>Saura, J., Tusell, J. M., Serratosa, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=High-yield+isolation+of+murine+microglia+by+mild+trypsinization.">High-yield isolation of murine microglia by mild trypsinization.</a> Glia. 44 (3), 183-189 (2003).</li><li>Gordon, R., 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=A+simple+magnetic+separation+method+for+high-yield+isolation+of+pure+primary+microglia.">A simple magnetic separation method for high-yield isolation of pure primary microglia.</a> J Neurosci Methods. 194 (2), 287-296 (2011).</li><li>Prinz, M., Priller, J., Sisodia, S. S., Ransohoff, R. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Heterogeneity+of+CNS+myeloid+cells+and+their+roles+in+neurodegeneration.">Heterogeneity of CNS myeloid cells and their roles in neurodegeneration.</a> Nat Neurosci. 14 (10), 1227-1235 (2011).</li><li>Marek, R., Caruso, M., Rostami, A., Grinspan, J. B., Das Sarma, ., J, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Magnetic+cell+sorting:+a+fast+and+effective+method+of+concurrent+isolation+of+high+purity+viable+astrocytes+and+microglia+from+neonatal+mouse+brain+tissue.">Magnetic cell sorting: a fast and effective method of concurrent isolation of high purity viable astrocytes and microglia from neonatal mouse brain tissue.</a> J Neurosci Methods. 175 (1), 108-118 (2008).</li><li>Hasko, G., Pacher, P., Vizi, E. S., Illes, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Adenosine+receptor+signaling+in+the+brain+immune+system.">Adenosine receptor signaling in the brain immune system.</a> Trends Pharmacol Sci. 26 (10), 511-516 (2005).</li><li>Radulovic, M., Yoon, H., Wu, J., Mustafa, K., Scarisbrick, I. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Targeting+the+thrombin+receptor+modulates+inflammation+and+astrogliosis+to+improve+recovery+after+spinal+cord+injury.">Targeting the thrombin receptor modulates inflammation and astrogliosis to improve recovery after spinal cord injury.</a> Neurobiol Dis. 93, 226-242 (2016).</li><li>Ay, M., 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=Molecular+cloning,+epigenetic+regulation,+and+functional+characterization+of+Prkd1+gene+promoter+in+dopaminergic+cell+culture+models+of+Parkinson's+disease.">Molecular cloning, epigenetic regulation, and functional characterization of Prkd1 gene promoter in dopaminergic cell culture models of Parkinson's disease.</a> J Neurochem. 135 (2), 402-415 (2015).</li><li>Gordon, R., 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=Protein+kinase+Cdelta+upregulation+in+microglia+drives+neuroinflammatory+responses+and+dopaminergic+neurodegeneration+in+experimental+models+of+Parkinson's+disease.">Protein kinase Cdelta upregulation in microglia drives neuroinflammatory responses and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in experimental models of Parkinson's disease.</a> Neurobiol Dis. 93, 96-114 (2016).</li></ol>

The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

Older microglial isolation methods have limited recoveries that are not appropriate for various protein analyses by Western blot and RNA analyses by qRT-PCR. The differential adherence and mild trypsinization methods are two common approaches with low microglial yields13,14,15. The column-based CD11b approach also has low recovery, but achieves greater purity than differential adherence and mild trypsinization1...

Microglia are Myb-independent resident macrophages of mesodermal origin, which differentiate from c-kit+/CD45- erythromyeloid progenitors in the blood islands of the yolk sac1,2. Once embryological microglia have colonized the central nervous system (CNS), they transition from an amoeboid to a ramified form3. These adult microglia are classified as surveillant since their dynamic ramifications probe the healthy brain parenchyma for potential insults4. Although microglia only contribute to approximately 10% of the CNS cell population, their ability to tile amongst each other ensures maximal scanning of the parenchyma4,5. Danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), such as &#945;-synuclein6,7 and amyloid-&#946;8, or pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS)9, classically activate microglia to promote an inflammatory response characterized by reversion to the amoeboid active state and the production of nitric oxide, tumor necrosis factor-&#945; (TNF&#945;), interleukin 1&#946; (IL-1&#946;), IL-6, IL-12, and the chemokine C-C motif ligand 29,10,11. In neuroinflammatory conditions such as Parkinson&#39;s disease, in which pathogenic &#945;-synuclein has accumulated, a neurodegenerative cycle is created from the death of dopaminergic neurons, which release more aggregated &#945;-synuclein, further promoting classical activation of microglia7. Similar to peripheral macrophages, microglia may also have the ability to alternatively activate in the presence of the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and IL-10, giving them the potential of promoting neural repair and attenuating inflammation2,11. Aside from their immunological roles in the CNS, microglia have been described as vital regulators of neuronal circuitry by pruning synapses during development. For example, Cx3cr1-KO mice have less dense microglia and reduced synaptic pruning, which leads to an overabundance of dendritic spines, immature synapses, and the electrophysiological patterns of an underdeveloped CNS12. Understanding these physiological complexities and the diverse functional roles of microglia in the homeostasis of the CNS is critical to the search for therapeutics targeting neurodegenerative disorders.
In the area of neuroimmunology, in vitro experiments are highly desirable because of the greater feasibility for mechanistic studies, the lower maintenance costs, and for being less time- and labor-intensive. Furthermore, the ability to isolate cell populations is critical to delineate the functionality of those target cells under prescribed conditions. Numerous microglial isolation methods exist, but they are limited by their ability to obtain relatively high numbers and purity for broad experimentation13,14,15. For example, a cluster of differentiation 11b (CD11b) is a common surface marker of monocytes, macrophages, and microglia16. By exploiting CD11b, a method of magnetic separation was first described as a column-based approach that yielded ~99.5% purity and ~1.6 x 106 microglia per neonatal brain17. Our laboratory recently developed a column-free CD11b magnetic separation method15, which we performed in a polystyrene tube by tagging CD11b with a monoclonal antibody conjugated to phycoerythrin (PE). A bispecific secondary antibody to PE and dextran complexes with the PE. Once bound, dextran-coated magnetic particles are introduced, which bind to the dextran end of the antibody complex. Lastly, the polystyrene tube is placed in a magnet for microglial isolation. This approach doubled the yield to ~3.2 x 106 microglia per neonatal brain but at the cost of reducing purity to ~97%.
Herein, we demonstrate a rapid and refined column-free CD11b magnetic separation protocol (Figure 1). This improved method remains as feasible as our original column-free method since the price of the CD11b magnetic separation kit is the same. The completion time is reduced in half, which can be crucial to maximizing cell survival and yield. Notably, the purity achieved from this optimized method is ~&#62;99%, a marked improvement over the purity achieved from the original column-free method developed by our laboratory15. Most importantly, CD11b-PE is not utilized, eliminating the need to incubate away from light and allowing the use of the red channel for fluorescence microscopy. Lastly, as in the original CD11b method, an astrocytic fraction of high yield and purity is obtained with this improved method. Astrocytes are the most numerous glial cells in the CNS, leading to the idea that their homeostatic functions are indispensable in relation to pathophysiology18. These glial cells play a role in diverse physiological functions such as forming the blood-brain barrier, providing nutrient support, maintaining neurotransmitter homeostasis, forming glial scars in response to injury, neuroprotection, learning and memory, and neuroinflammation, exemplifying their investigatory potential in glial biology19. Morphology and functionality of microglia and astrocytes have been ascertained via confocal microscopy, Western blotting, quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR), Griess nitrite assay, and the Luminex multiplex cytokine assay. The refinement provided by this protocol offers increased confidence pertaining to microglial or astrocytic purity, broader application of fluorescence microscopy with the availability of the red channel, and saves time, all of which are important for in vitro experimentation.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>EasySep CD11b Separation Kit II</td>
			<td>StemCell Technologies</td>
			<td>18970</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>EasySep Magnet</td>
			<td>StemCell Technologies</td>
			<td>18000</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DMEM/F12 (1:1) (1x)</td>
			<td>Life Technologies&#160;</td>
			<td>11330057</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium Pyruvate</td>
			<td>Life Technologies&#160;</td>
			<td>11360070</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MEM Non-essential amino acids (100x)</td>
			<td>Life Technologies&#160;</td>
			<td>11140050</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>L-Glutamine (100x)</td>
			<td>Life Technologies&#160;</td>
			<td>25030081</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>EDTA</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>AM9260G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fetal Bovine Serum</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>13H469</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>0.25% Trypsin-EDTA</td>
			<td>Gibco by Life Technologies</td>
			<td>25200</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dulbecco&#39;s PBS</td>
			<td>Gibco by Life Technologies</td>
			<td>14190250</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

rapid and refined cd11b magnetic isolation of primary microglia with enhanced purity and versatility

Microglia are the primary responders to central nervous system insults; however, much remains unknown about their role in regulating neuroinflammation. Microglia are mesodermal cells that function similarly to macrophages in surveying inflammatory stress. The classical (M1-type) and alternative (M2-type) activations of macrophages have also been extended to microglia in an effort to better understand the underlying interplay these phenotypes have in neuroinflammatory conditions such as Parkinson&#39;s, Alzheimer&#39;s, and Huntington&#39;s Diseases. In vitro experimentation utilizing primary microglia offers rapid and reliable results that may be extended to the in vivo environment. Although this is a clear advantage over in vivo experimentation, isolating microglia while achieving adequate yields of optimal purity has been a challenge. Common methods currently in use either suffer from low recovery, low purity, or both. Herein, we demonstrate a refinement of the column-free CD11b magnetic separation method that achieves a high cell recovery and enhanced purity in half the amount of time. We propose this optimized method as a highly useful model of primary microglial isolation for the purposes of studying neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration.

Microglia isolated using CD11b Positive Selection kit II have high purity
Primary mouse microglia were isolated using the above mentioned protocol and plated on poly-D-lysine-coated coverslips to check the purity of isolation. Ten thousand cells were plated per well and immunocytochemical analysis was performed using ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1) as a marker of microglia and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Rapid and Refined CD11b Magnetic Isolation of Primary Microglia with Enhanced Purity and Versatility at JoVE.com

Rapid and Refined CD11b Magnetic Isolation of Primary Microglia with Enhanced Purity and Versatility

Here, we present a protocol to isolate microglia from postnatal mouse pups (day 1) for in vitro experimentation. This improvised method of isolation generates both high yield and purity, a significant advantage over alternate methods that allows broad range experimentation for the purposes of elucidating microglial biology.

Microglia are the primary responders to central nervous system insults; however, much remains unknown about their role in regulating neuroinflammation. ...

The overall goal of CD11b magnetic microglia isolation is to achieve a high purity end yield of postnatal microglia in a relatively short time period for the purposes of versatile in vitro experimentation. This method can help answer key questions in the field of neuroscience, such as the signaling mechanisms pertinent to neural inflammation. The main advantage of this technique over currently available methods is that the isolation takes approximately 30 minutes, with no sacrifices in purity, yield, or viability.Begin by transferring freshly decapitated heads from one-to two-day-old mouse pups to a laminar airflow hood. Then, use 4.5-inch straight micro-dissecting scissors to make a small incision in the skull and meninges by inserting the tips in the opening formed by the decapitation and cutting caudal to rostral. After making the incision, peel one of the hemisphere to the side.Then use a pair of curved or hooked tweezers to remove the entire brain. Transfer the brain to a 50-milliliter tube containing two milliliters of 0.25%trypsin EDTA, and incubate for 15 minutes in a 37-degree Celsius water bath. Wash the brain with fresh growth medium by adding and removing the medium.After completion of the washes, add two milliliters of growth medium per brain, and homogenize by triturating the brain. When the brain tissue does not get smaller, transition to a pipette with a smaller aperture. At the end of trituration, when the suspension is clear with no visible chunks, pass the suspension through a 70-micron cell strainer to create a single cell culture.Then pipette eight to nine milliliters of growth medium into T75 flasks, two flasks per brain, and add on milliliter of brain homogenate to each flask. Grow the cells until isolation on the sixteenth day. After sixteen days, transfer the growth medium from the flask to a fresh 50-milliliter tube.Add three milliliters of 0.25%trypsin EDTA to each T75 flask. Then shake the flasks for five minutes at room temperature on an orbital shaker. Centrifuge the growth medium at 0.4 times g for five minutes.After shaking for five minutes, add a minimum of four milliliters of the centrifuged culture medium to stop the trypsin EDTA reaction, and triturate to ensure that all the cells have been detached. Then pass the cells through a 70-micromolar cell strainer to create a single cell culture. Perform a cell count, and then spin down at 0.4 times g for five minutes.Next, take a five-milliliter polystyrene tube, add one milliliter of recommended medium, and mark the meniscus. Add recommended medium up to 2.5 milliliters, and mark this meniscus as well. Then, remove the medium, and re-suspend the pellet in 500 microliters of recommended medium.Transfer this mix into a five-milliliter polystyrene tube, and then dilute to the one milliliter mark. Then add 50 microliters of rat serum for every one milliliter of suspended cells, and incubate for five minutes at room temperature. During the incubation, prepare the selection cocktail by mixing 25 microliters of component A and 25 microliters of component B.Once the five minutes have elapsed, add 50 microliters of the selection cocktail to the cells, and incubate for a further five minutes at room temperature.Vortex the microspheres for 45 seconds. Then add 80 microliters of microspheres per one milliliter of sample, and incubate for three minutes at room temperature. Next, add recommended medium up to the 2.5 milliliter mark on the polystyrene tube.Put the tube in the magnetic holder for three minutes at room temperature. After the incubation, slowly pour out the medium into a 15-milliliter polystyrene tube still in the magnet. Repeat the magnetic separation three more times, each time adding recommended medium up to the 2.5 milliliter mark.After the last magnetic separation, add three milliliters of growth medium, and count the number of cells using a cell counter. Plate the cells in poly-D-lysine-coated plates for treatments. Plate the negative fraction from the 15-milliliter tube, which mostly contains astrocytes, in T75 flasks.After at least six hours of incubation in a 37-degree Celsius incubator, replace all the growth medium in the flasks containing the negative fraction before returning to the incubator. This image shows immunocytochemistry of an isolated microglial culture probed for IBA, a marker of microglia in the green channel, and GFAP, a marker of astrocytes, in the red channel. Hoechst staining reveals the presence of cell nuclei.The absence of GFAP-positive cells demonstrates that microglia isolated using the CD11b positive selection kit, too, have high purity. These immunoblotted proteins from an isolated microglial culture were probed for GFAP, which appears as an approximately 51-kilodalton band, and IBA1, which appears as an approximately 15-kilodalton band. Beta-actin was used as a loading control and appears at approximately 42-kilodaltons.A problem with the old isolation kit was that PE fluorescence could be observed in the red channel as seen here. The modified procedure does not produce any auto-fluorescence from the magnetic beads, as seen in the red channel here. The microglia isolated using this procedure can be used for signaling studies.Western blot analysis shows that Fyn and phospho-src tyrosine Y416 can be detected from microglia isolated with our newly-refined method. The negative fraction from the microglial separation contains astrocytes that can be used for signaling studies. Western blotting shows that the negative fraction contains GFAP-positive cells.Western blot analysis shows that Fyn and phospho-src tyrosine Y416 can be detected from the GFAP-positive cells. Following this procedure, other methods, like multi-channel fluorescence microscopy, western blotting, and quantitative PCR, can be performed to answer questions regarding gene expression and protein signaling. After watching this video, you should have a good understanding of how to utilize this rapid isolation technique for the purposes of microglial experimentation.

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Neuroscience

9.6K Views.  Iowa State University. The overall goal of CD11b magnetic microglia isolation is to achieve a high purity end yield of postnatal microglia in a relatively short time period for the purposes of versatile in vitro experimentation. This method can help answer key questions in the field of neuroscience, such as the signaling mechanisms pertinent to neural inflammation. The main advantage of this technique over currently available methods is that the isolation takes approximately 30 minutes, with no sacrifices in purity...