Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cell Culture

Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells represent the largest proliferating progenitor population in the postnatal central nervous system. They not only give rise to oligodendrocytes but also have the potential to differentiate into astrocytes or revert to multipotential neural stem-like cells under certain conditions. Dissociated cultures of these cells provide a useful tool to study their function and dissect the molecular mechanisms that regulate their behavior. This chapter describes and compares three methods of purifying oligodendrocytes progenitor cells: purification by differential adhesion, immunopanning, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting.