Olfactory Ensheathing Cells: Isolation and Culture from the Neonatal Olfactory Bulb

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), which are glia from the olfactory system, have evolved as attractive candidates for transplant-mediated repair based on long-standing knowledge that the olfactory system is one of the only central nervous system tissues that can support neurogenesis throughout life. After injury and during normal cell turnover, the olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) die, and new nerves are generated from putative stem cells in the olfactory epithelium. OECs, which reside throughout the olfactory system, guide the ORN axons as they travel through the olfactory mucosa (olfactory epithelium and lamina propria) and the cribriform plate, terminating in synapse formation in the usually nonpermissive environment of the olfactory bulb. It is this ability to support axonal outgrowth throughout life that has made olfactory tissue such a promising focus for repair strategies. Here, we provide a method to purify OECs—from the rat olfactory bulb and in Chapter 9, from the turbinates of the mouse olfactory epithelium.