Isolation and Culture of Astrocytes from Postnatal and Adult Mouse Brains.

Astrocytes play fundamental roles in development and plasticity of the central nervous system. Dysfunction of astrocytes contributes to most of neurological diseases ranging from neurodegenerative diseases to psychological disorders. To better understand the involvement of astrocytes in both physiological and pathological conditions, and further elucidate their underlying mechanisms, it is critical to establish a reliable isolation and culture method for the cells. In this chapter, we describe the isolation and culture protocols of astrocytes from postnatal and adult mouse brains.