Microglia from Progenitor Cells in Mouse Neopallium

This chapter outlines a procedure for initiation of mouse neopallium (cerebral cortex and its underlying white matter) cell cultures and their development into nearly pure microglia cultures. The cytokine CSF-1 is required for the development, survival, and differentiation of microglia. In cultures, astroglia secrete CSF-1 into the medium (Hao et al. 1990, J. Neurosci. Res. 27, 314–323). Therefore, a simple protocol is described, originally developed by 12 (Hao et al. 1991, Int J. Dev. Neurosci. 9, 1–14), which utilizes CSF-1-secreting astroglia cultures for production of better than 99% pure cultures of microglia.