Cerebral Cortical Neurons in Primary Culture and Application to Neuropharmacological Studies

Abstract

This chapter discusses cerebral cortical neurons in primary culture and application to neuropharmacological studies. In studies to elucidate the function of the central nervous system (CNS), various cerebral preparations, such as slice, homogenate, and subcellular fractions, have been used. With the exception of cultured cell lines, however, these materials are known to be a mixture of several types of cells: neurons, glias and endothelial cells constituting intracerebral blood vessels. These facts strongly suggest that neuron-specific changes and/or phenomena may be masked by the use of such a mixture of different cell types. In addition, several neurochemical reports have indicated that the proportion of neurons occupying cerebral tissues is approximately 40%, and 60–80% of the protein determined in brain homogenates originates from glial cells. Two types of neuronal preparations have been used in neurochemical research. One is the cell line, such as neuroblastoma with tumor origin, and the other is primary cultured neurons. The chapter discusses the procedures used to prepare cerebral cortical neurons in primary culture. It also describes the neurochemical characteristics of these neurons during in vitro growth, and their application to pharmacological and/or neurochemical studies.