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Enable insights into development, disease, and drug response
Primary neuronal and neural cell culture help provide a powerful way to study the structure and function of the nervous system in a controlled environment. By isolating and maintaining neurons and glia in vitro, researchers can investigate cell growth, communication, and responses to stimuli relevant to development, disease, and drug discovery.
Key takeaways
- Primary neurons and other neural cells can be isolated directly from tissue. Although some neural cells have proliferative potential, primary neurons do not divide in culture.
- Neuronal refers specifically to neurons, while neural includes all nervous system cell types.
- Successful cultures depend on optimized media, supplements, and conditions that support cell survival and function.
What is primary neuronal culture?
Primary neuronal culture refers to in vitro maintenance of living neurons that have been extracted from animal (in vivo) nervous system tissue such as brain or spinal cord. Cells extracted from tissue are kept viable in the laboratory by supplying nutrients, vitamins, and the proper salt balance in neuronal cell culture media and appropriate atmosphere (humidity, temperature, and CO2). Under the right in vitro conditions, primary cells harvested from embryonic or pre-natal nerve tissue may mature or further develop; for example, primary neurons can undergo neurite outgrowth. However, primary neurons in culture do not proliferate; that is, they do not increase in numbers via cell division.
What is the difference between neuronal and neural?
There are several types of cells in the nervous system including neurons, astrocytes, and microglia. The term "neural" refers to any type of nerve cell, including a mixture of brain cells, whereas "neuronal" is specifically related to neurons. The term "neural" is used in context of both primary cultures and neural stem cells.
What types of neural cells and disease models can be cultured using Gibco neuronal cell culture reagents?
Primary rodent neurons have been extensively utilized to further our understanding of neuroscience, and, to a smaller extent, primary human neurons have also been used as an in vitro model. Gibco neuronal cell culture reagents have been developed and optimized to provide the essential nutrients that support a wide variety of neuronal cell cultures.
Cell types and disease models cited in publications using Gibco neuronal cell culture reagents
Primary neurons
Brainstem, cerebellar, cortical, dopaminergic, DRG, enteric, GABAergic, glutamatergic, hippocampal, motor, neural progenitor, pancreatic, parasympathetic, retinal, septal, striatal, substantia nigral, sympathetic ganglia
Glial cells
Astrocyte, microglia, oligodendrocytes, radial glia, satellite, Schwann cells
Disease models
Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), brain tumor, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, glioma, Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, spinal cord injury, stroke
Featured publications
| Disease | Primary cell type used | Title | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALS | Mouse spinal motor neurons and primary spinal astrocytes | Astrocytes expressing ALS-linked mutated SOD1 release factors selectively toxic to motor neurons | Nagai M, Re DB, Nagata T, Chalazonitis A, Jessell TM, Wichterle H, Przedborski S. Nat Neurosci. 2007 May;10(5):615-622. doi: 10.1038/nn1876. |
| Alzheimer’s disease | Mouse cortical neurons | The Alzheimer’s β-secretase BACE1 localizes to normal presynaptic terminals and to dystrophic presynaptic terminals surrounding amyloid plaques | Kandalepas PC, Sadleir KR, Eimer WA, Zhao J, Nicholson DA, Vassar R. Acta Neuropathol. 2013 Sep;126(3):329-352. doi: 10.1007/s00401-013-1152-3. |
| Brain tumor | Patient-derived primary brain cancer cells from surgical specimens | Establishment and Characterization of Brain Cancer Primary Cell Cultures From Patients to Enable Phenotypic Screening for New Drugs | dePadua M, Kulothungan P, Lath R, Prasad R, Madamchetty K, Atmakuri S, Ragamouni S, Gandhari M, Khandrika L, Jain J. Front Pharmacol. 2022 Mar 17;13:778193. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.778193. |
| Epilepsy | Rat cortical neurons and glial cell cultures | KEAP1 inhibition is neuroprotective and suppresses the development of epilepsy | Shekh-Ahmad T, Eckel R, Dayalan Naidu S, Higgins M, Yamamoto M, Dinkova-Kostova AT, Kovac S, Abramov AY, Walker MC. Brain. 2018 May 1;141(5):1390-1403. doi: 10.1093/brain/awy071. |
| Fragile X Syndrome | Hippocampal and cortical mouse neurons; Cortical organotypic slice cultures from human and macaque | Elevated levels of FMRP-target MAP1B impair human and mouse neuronal development and mouse social behaviors via autophagy pathway | Guo Y, Shen M, Dong Q, Méndez-Albelo NM, Huang SX, Sirois CL, Le J, Li M, Jarzembowski ED, Schoeller KA, Stockton ME, Horner VL, Sousa AMM, Gao Y; Birth Defects Research Laboratory; Levine JE, Wang D, Chang Q, Zhao X. Nat Commun. 2023 Jun 26;14(1):3801. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-39337-0. |
| Glioma | Patient-derived glioma stem cells | Notch signaling contributes to the maintenance of both normal neural stem cells and patient-derived glioma stem cells | Hu Y-Y, Zheng M-H, Cheng G, Li L, Liang L, Gao F, Wei Y-N, Fu L-A, Han H. BMC Cancer. 2011 Feb 22;11:82. doi: 10.1186/1471-2407-11-82. |
| Huntington’s disease | Rat striatal neurons | Down-regulation of neuroprotective protein kinase D in Huntington’s disease | Sebastián-Serrano Á, Simón-García A, Santos-Galindo M, Sánchez-Carralero MP, H-Alcántara A, Clemente C, Pose-Utrilla J, Campanero MR, Porlan E, Lucas JJ, Iglesias T. Cell Death Dis. 2025 Jun 3;16(1):418. doi: 10.1038/s41419-025-07688-9. |
| Macular or retinal degeneration | Mouse retina | Loss of XBP1 accelerates age-related decline in retinal function and neurodegeneration | McLaughlin T, Falkowski M, Park JW, Keegan S, Elliott M, Wang JJ, Zhang SX. Mol Neurodegener. 2018 Apr 4;13(1):16. doi: 10.1186/s13024-018-0250-z. |
| Multiple sclerosis | Mouse astrocytes | In vivo conversion of astrocytes into oligodendrocyte lineage cells with transcription factor Sox10; Promise for myelin repair in multiple sclerosis | Khanghahi AM, Satarian L, Deng W, Baharvand H, Javan M. PLoS One. 2018 Sep 13;13(9):e0203785. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203785. |
| Parkinson’s disease | Rat ventral mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons | Nitrated alpha-synuclein induces the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of rats | Yu Z, Xu X, Xiang Z, Zhou J, Zhang Z, Hu C, He C. PLoS One. 2010 Apr 8;5(4):e9956. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009956 |
| Schizophrenia | Rat hippocampal neurons | EPO Deficiency Upregulates GADD45b/p38 MAPK Axis, Mediating Schizophrenia-Related Synaptic and Cognitive Impairments | Guo C, Li W, Liu Y, Tao X, Mahaman YAR, Wang J, Liu R, Li S, Wang X. Adv Sci. 2024;11(47):2406979. doi: 10.1002/advs.202406979. |
| Spinal cord injury | Mouse cortical neurons | Tauroursodeoxycholic acid alleviates secondary injury in spinal cord injury mice by reducing oxidative stress, apoptosis, and inflammatory response | Hou Y, Luan J, Huang T, Deng T, Li X, Xiao Z, Zhan J, Luo D, Hou Y, Xu L, Lin D. J Neuroinflammation. 2021 Sep 20;18(1):216. doi: 10.1186/s12974-021-02248-2. |
| Stroke | Mouse cortical neurons | ACSL4 exacerbates ischemic stroke by promoting ferroptosis-induced brain injury and neuroinflammation | Cui Y, Zhang Y, Zhao X, Shao L, Liu G, Sun C, Xu R, Zhang Z. Brain Behav Immun. 2021 Mar;93:312-321. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2021.01.003. |
What options do we offer for culture of primary neurons?
Whether you’re looking to start with ready-to-use cryopreserved neurons or isolate cells from a rodent breeding colony, we offer a portfolio of products to help keep your research on track. Since the original invention of B-27 Supplement three decades ago, Gibco products have continued to support the success of your primary neuronal cell culture. These products include specialized media, supplements, and cryopreserved primary neurons, all helping to enhance neuronal survival, maturation, and functionality.
Resources
Maximize neural cell culture success
Unlock the full potential of your neural cell culture research with our comprehensive protocols, designed to help ensure reproducibility and success in your experiments. Explore guidelines and innovative techniques to help elevate your scientific discoveries.
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For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.