Inflammation and Reactive Oxygen/Nitrogen Species in Glial/Neuronal Cultures

Inflammation contributes to a wide variety of brain pathologies. In this chapter methods are described for using microglia and astrocytes in culture to investigate inflammatory processes and inflammatory neurodegeneration, including the use of neuronal/glial co-cultures and transwells. Methods for detecting and characterising inflammatory activation in culture include changes in microglial phenotype, microglial phagocytosis and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The protocols for how to determine cellular production of superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, peroxynitrite and nitric oxide in culture are described.