Human Fetal Brain Cell Culture

The human brain is a highly evolved and complex organ system, consisting of more than 10 billion nerve cells and at least three times as many glial cells. Because of its cellular complexity, it is important to develop technical approaches that allow isolation and study of nerve and glial cells under conditions in which their environment can be precisely manipulated. Such methods have proven valuable in discovering the cellular and molecular mechanisms of brain development, function, and disease in invertebrates and rodents (1 ,2 ). However, several factors have contributed to the relative dearth of information concerning the mechanisms responsible for the development and proper function of the human brain compared to the knowledge base in lower species. A major impediment has been the ethical considerations surrounding the use of fetal human tissue obtained from elective abortions and the lack of an alternative source of viable normal human brain cells. Although research that employs human fetal tissue has been limited, what has been done has made a major impact in the development of prophylactics and therapeutics for several important human diseases. For example, the use of fetal tissue from elective abortions was key to development of the polio vaccine (3 ).