title: Studying the Effects of Semaphorins on Oligodendrocyte Lineage Cells.
abstract: Oligodendrocytes are the myelinating cells of the central nervous system. The role of oligodendrocytes in health and disease has been considerably enhanced by the development of methods to isolate and culture oligodendrocytes from central nervous system tissue. The cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in oligodendrocyte differentiation can be identified by challenging oligodendrocyte progenitors cells (OPCs) by altering their extracellular environment and intrinsic differentiation pathways. To address these issues, it is imperative to develop an in vitro protocol where pure OPCs are isolated and cultured in the presence of inhibitory developmental and differentiation cues like Semaphorin 3A. In this chapter, we describe methods to isolate and culture OPCs from neonatal rat brain tissue and further characterise their differentiation into oligodendrocytes. The described protocol is relatively simple in comparison to existing protocols and can be used to study the effect of lesion-associated inhibitors like Semaphorin 3A on oligodendrocyte differentiation.
authors: Wellcome Trust and MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, Anne McLaren Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, University of Cambridge, West Forvie Building, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ, UK.
authors: Yasir Ahmed
authors: YA
authors: Syed
authors: Wellcome Trust and MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, Anne McLaren Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, University of Cambridge, West Forvie Building, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ, UK.
authors: Sarah Ali
authors: SA
authors: Abdulla
authors: Wellcome Trust and MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, Anne McLaren Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, University of Cambridge, West Forvie Building, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ, UK. mrk25@cam.ac.uk.
authors: Mark R N
authors: MR
authors: Kotter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D039961:Semaphorins / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D039961:Semaphorins
keywords: Myelin; Neural progenitor cells; Oligodendrocytes; Semaphorin