title: Culture of neurons from postmortem rat brain.
abstract: Live neurons from pathological postmortem brains may provide a better model to study the molecular and cellular events associated with neurodegenerative disease. The aim of this study was to culture neurons from adult rat brain, 1 and 2 h postmortem, in typical normothermic autopsy conditions. We reliably cultured cells up to 2 h postmortem, in high yield, with neuron morphology, staining for neuronal markers (microtubule-associated protein 2, tau, and neurofilament 200). These neuron-like cells lacked glial marker staining (OX42 and glial fibrillary acidic protein). Our results suggest that neurons may be cultured from autopsy donors who have died either with or without a neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer or Parkinson disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Southern Illinois University School Medicine, Springfield 62794-1220, USA. dmcmanus@neuro.siumed.edu
authors.forename: D Q
authors.initials: DQ
authors.lastname: McManus
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Brewer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured / Q000502:physiology; D046508:Culture Techniques; D005260:Female; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley