Selective flow cytometric sorting of viable dopamine neurons.

Flow cytometry has been revealed as a powerful technique for studying cell populations. The availability of the method to identify, analyze and isolate specific populations of central nervous system cells will be of great aid for studying the in vivo (i.e. neural transplants) and in vitro (i.e. cell cultures) behavior of these cells. The present report describes the analysis and cell sorting of a population of retrogradely fluorescence-labeled dopamine-containing neurons from ventral mesencephalon. Dopamine neurons were identified by immunohistochemical localization of neuron-specific enolase and tyrosine hydroxylase. After being maintained in culture, this relatively pure population differentiates toward a mature phenotype bearing a prominent neuropil.