Organotypic Slice Cultures to Study Oligodendrocyte Proliferation, Fate, and Myelination.

Oligodendrocyte development and myelination are processes in the central nervous system that are regulated by cell intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms. Organotypic slice cultures provide a simple method for studying factors that affect oligodendrocyte proliferation, differentiation, and myelination in the context of the local cellular environment. Here we show that major glial cell types and neurons are preserved in slice cultures from postnatal mouse forebrain, and their morphological characteristics are retained. We further demonstrate that cellular processes requiring interactions with neighboring cells such as myelination can proceed in slice culture.