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Quantification of Microglial Proliferation and Apoptosis by Flow Cytometry

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Microglia

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1041))

Abstract

Microglia are innate immune cells that survey the central nervous system (CNS) and respond almost immediately to any disturbance in CNS homeostasis. They are derived from primitive yolk sac myeloid progenitors and in the mouse colonize the CNS during fetal development. As a population, microglia have the potential to expand rapidly in response to inflammatory stimuli, injury, or any other pathological changes, due to a high capacity for proliferation. In addition, apoptotic mechanisms can be evoked to retract the microglial population, as reactivity declines. In the normal CNS, a low rate of proliferation and apoptosis maintain a low rate of microglial turnover. Here, we describe quantitative analysis of proliferation and apoptosis of microglial cells isolated from individual adult mice by flow cytometry, which allows distinction from perivascular or infiltrating macrophages, based on differential expression of CD45. These methods can be applied to analyze microglial turnover in various models of neuroinflammation.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by The Augustinus Foundation; Aase og Ejnar Danielsens Fond; The Carlsberg Foundation, Grosserer M. Brogaard og Hustrus Mindefond, Odense; Katrine og Vigo Skovgaards Fond; Fonden til Lægevidenskabens Fremme; The Lundbeck Foundation; The Novo Nordisk Foundation; Overlægerådets Legatudvalg; the Danish Alzheimer’s Society; and the Danish Medical Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Alicia A. Babcock

  2. University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Martin Wirenfeldt

  3. Neurobiology Research, Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Bente Finsen

Authors
  1. Alicia A. Babcock
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  2. Martin Wirenfeldt
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  3. Bente Finsen
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Solnavägen, Stockholm, SE-171 77, Sweden

    Bertrand Joseph

  2. , Department of Biochemistry, University of Seville, García González 2, Seville, 41012, Spain

    José Luis Venero

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Babcock, A.A., Wirenfeldt, M., Finsen, B. (2013). Quantification of Microglial Proliferation and Apoptosis by Flow Cytometry. In: Joseph, B., Venero, J. (eds) Microglia. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1041. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-520-0_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-520-0_15

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-519-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-520-0

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