Primary Schwann Cell Cultures

The most widely used method (the Brockes’ method) for preparing primary Schwann cell culture uses neonatal rat sciatic nerves as the primary source of Schwann cells. The procedure is relatively simple and yields a highly purified population of Schwann cells in a short period of time. The method has also been used to prepare Schwann cells from mice, however, with limitation. For example, the Brockes’ method is not applicable when the genotypes of mouse neonates are unknown or if the mouse mutants do not develop to term. In the first part of the chapter, we described a method ideal for preparing Schwann cells in a transgenic/knockout mouse study. The method uses embryonic dorsal root ganglia as the primary source of Schwann cells and allows preparing separate, highly purified Schwann cell cultures from individual mouse embryos in less than 2 weeks. In the second part of the chapter, we describe a procedure for preparing Schwann cells from neonatal rat sciatic nerves using the Brockes’ method, including protocols for Schwann cell purification, expansion, and storage.