Astrocytes are the major cell type in the mammalian brain. They have been implicated in a variety of supportive functions for their partner neurons in the CNS, such as neuronal guidance during development, ion and water homeostasis, blood flow regulation, neurotransmission, energy metabolism, and immune defense [1]. Recent studies have shown that spinal cord astrocytes contribute to neuroinflammation by chemokine expression which leads to the recruitment of “inflammatory” monocytes and neutrophils to the lesion site [2]. Experimentally, spinal cord astrocytes have also been used to study the wobbler mutation and muscular dystrophy in mice [3] and astrogliosis [4]. As the recognition of the importance of astrocytes in nervous system functioning is increasing, specifically regarding the modulation of neural activity, astrocyte cultures are continuing to provide a useful tool in exploring the diverse properties and functions of these cells.
MA-sc from ScienCell Research Laboratories are isolated from neonatal C57BL/6 mouse spinal cord. MA-sc are cryopreserved at primary culture and delivered frozen. Each vial contains >1 x 106 cells in 1 ml volume. MA-sc are characterized by immunofluorescence with antibody specific to GFAP. MA-sc are negative for mycoplasma, bacteria, yeast and fungi. MA-sc are guaranteed to further expand for 5 population doublings in the condition provided by ScienCell Research Laboratories.
Recommended Medium It is recommended to use Astrocyte Medium-animal (AM-a, Cat. #1831) for the culturing of MA-sc in vitro.
Product Use MA-sc are for research use only. They are not approved for human or animal use, or for application in in vitro diagnostic procedures.
Storage Transfer cells directly and immediately from dry ice to liquid nitrogen upon receiving and keep the cells in liquid nitrogen until cell culture is needed for experiments.
Shipping
Dry ice. Reference
[1] Oberheim N, Goldman S, Nedergaard M. (2012) “Heterogeneity of astrocytic form and function.” Methods in Mol Biol. 814: 23-45. [2] Pineau I, Sun L, Bastien D, Lacroix S. (2010) “Astrocytes initiate inflammation in the injured mouse spinal cord by promoting the entry of neutrophils and inflammatory monocytes in an IL-1 receptor /MyD88-depdent fashion.” Brain Behav Immun. 24: 540-53. [3] Hantaz-Ambroise D, Blondet B, Murawsky M, Rieger F. (1994) “Abnormal astrocyte differentiation and defective cellular interactions in wobbler mouse spinal cord.” J Neurocytol. 23: 179-92. [4] Bhalala O, Pan L, Sahni V, McGuire T, Gruner K, Tourtellotte W, Kessler J. (2012) “microRNA-21 regulates astrocytic response following spinal cord injury.” J Neurosci. 32: 17935-47.