Cold Spring Harbor Protocols features tissue culture methods for immune cells and neuronsDecember 03, 2008The complexity of vital organ systems makes them difficult to study in living organisms. Tissue culture methods for specific cell types allow researchers to break these systems down into component parts that can be readily manipulated and observed. This month's issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols (www.cshprotocols.org/TOCs/toc12_08.dtl) features two articles detailing experimental culture methods for cells from the immune system and the nervous system. "Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages (BMM): Isolation and Applications," from Bo Porse and colleagues at the University of Copenhagen (http://www.bric.ku.dk/research/porse_group/), describes the derivation and growth of bone marrow-derived macrophages. Macrophages are specialized cells that carry out numerous tasks in the immune system such as phagocytosis, antigen presentation, cytokine production and migration. Cultured cells can be used to study these functions and to perform assays for gene expression, gene function and interaction with microbes. The protocol is freely accessible on the website for Cold Spring Harbor Protocols (http://www.cshprotocols.org/cgi/content/full/2008/13/pdb.prot5080). Primary cultures of granule neurons from the cerebellum provide an excellent model system for molecular and cell biological studies of neuronal development and function. Many fundamental insights into the processes of neuronal apoptosis, migration, and differentiation in the mammalian central nervous system have come from investigating granule neurons in vitro. Azad Bonni's laboratory at Harvard University (http://pathology.hms.harvard.edu/labs/bonni/index.html) provides "Cultures of Cerebellar Granule Neurons," a protocol for isolating and culturing these cells. This method is freely accessible on the website for Cold Spring Harbor Protocols (http://www.cshprotocols.org/cgi/content/full/2008/13/pdb.prot5107). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Neurons Current Events and Neurons News Articles Scripps research scientists find new link between insulin and core body temperature A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a direct link between insulin-a hormone long associated with metabolism and metabolic disorders such as diabetes-and core body temperature. New Down syndrome treatment suggested by Stanford/Packard study in mice At birth, children with Down syndrome aren't developmentally delayed. But as they age, these kids fall behind. Memory deficits inherent in Down syndrome hinder learning, making it hard for the brain to collect experiences needed for normal cognitive development. Cognitive dysfunction reversed in mouse model of Down syndrome A study by neuroscientist William C. Mobley, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues at Stanford University Medical School has demonstrated a possible new approach to slowing the inevitable progression of cognitive decline found in Down's syndrome. Pushing the brain to find new pathways Until recently, scientists believed that, following a stroke, a patient had about six months to regain any lost function. After that, patients would be forced to compensate for the lost function by focusing on their remaining abilities. Scientists decipher the formation of lasting memories Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered a mechanism that controls the brain's ability to create lasting memories. In experiments on genetically manipulated mice, they were able to switch on and off the animals' ability to form lasting memories by adding a substance to their drinking water. Developmental delay could stem from nicotinic receptor deletion The loss of a gene through deletion of genetic material on chromosome 15 is associated with significant abnormalities in learning and behavior, said a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature Genetics. New TMS clinic offers noninvasive treatment for major depression Rush University Medical Center has opened the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Clinic to offer patients suffering from major depression a safe, effective, non-drug treatment. Researchers explore new ways to prevent spinal cord damage using a vitamin B3 precursor Substances naturally produced by the human body may one day help prevent paralysis following a spinal cord injury, according to researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College. A recent $2.5 million grant from the New York State Spinal Cord Injury Research Board will fund their research investigating this possibility. Estrogen therapy likely must be given soon after menopause to provide stroke protection For estrogen replacement to provide stroke protection, it likely must be given soon after levels drop because of menopause or surgical removal of the ovaries, scientists report in the Journal of Neuroscience. Researchers identify drug candidate for treating spinal muscular atrophy A chemical cousin of the common antibiotic tetracycline might be useful in treating spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a currently incurable disease that is the leading genetic cause of death in infants. More Neurons Current Events and Neurons News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||