Protocols for Neural Cell Culture

From The Critics

Reviewer: Adriana B Ferreira, MD, Ph.D.(Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine)
Description: "This manual describes well-tested protocols for the preparation, maintenance, and analysis of neural cell cultures. This edition revises and updates the protocols in the previous edition published in 1997. "
Purpose: The manual is designed to serve as a guide and reference for scientists in different areas of the neuroscience who have chosen the art of culturing nerve cells as part of their research program. The book meets the authors' objectives.
Audience: It is written for researchers getting started in these techniques as well as for experienced workers. Each chapter is written by experienced culturists who have developed or successfully applied the techniques described.
Features: In addition to covering standard protocols in well-established culture systems, this is one of the first manuals to include a chapter on protocols to culture neural stem cells. Another unique feature is the inclusion of pictures to facilitate the dissection of particular brain areas, which will be of great help for workers not completely familiar with different aspects of developmental neuroanatomy.
Assessment: This is a valuable tool for "culturists" of neural cells. This edition updates protocols for the culturing of neural cell types traditionally used in laboratories studying different aspects of neurobiology and it provides easy-to follow instructions for setting up and maintaining cultures of progenitor cells that will be used in many laboratories in years to come.

Alexander Kolchinsky

The first 12 chapters in this manual cover slice cultures, explants, and primary cell cultures from animals that are widely used in neuroscience, as well as human biopsies. Eight additional chapters discuss various methods of analysis, from general tips on recommended equipment and routine techniques to sophisticated microscopy and gene therapy experiments using herpesvirus. The editors have achieved consistent format of chapters with very moderate overlapping. The purpose of the book is to provide a practical manual for experimentation in neuroscience. The new edition is updated by several new chapters. It may serve as a benchtop laboratory manual and reference. In addition, it offers a fresh look at hot topics of neuroscience. A good example is the a brief discussion of the presence of astroglial precursors in brain cultures (chapter 11). The potential audience for the book ranges from a principal investigator of a project to a part-time undergraduate working in a neuroscience lab. Anyone interested in neuroscience can find descriptions of basic experimental facts and their immediate interpretation. The book is clearly written and gives all the necessary experimental details. It has a list of abbreviations and detailed subject index. Lists of references contain mostly appropriate books and reviews. Black-and-white photographs are of high quality and very informative. They include microphotographs and schemes and sometimes illustrate the organization of the workplace. Most chapters present an outline of the possible goals of specific experiments. The authors wisely refrain from detailed discussions of issues; instead, they lay strong laboratory background for a wide varietyof studies. This approach makes the book a pleasure to read, besides its immediate value as a reference source for routine work. The book is indispensable for every project in neuroscience.

Booknews

This updated manual featuring reproducible neural tissue culture protocols for established laboratory procedures adds 11 chapters describing important new techniques: e.g. the isolation, growth, and characterization of neural stem cells; the production and purification of monoclonal antibodies; hippocampal and microglial slice cultures; and transfection of neurons in culture with adenovirus. Chapter 27 concludes with tips for tissue culture. Detailed dissection procedures are a plus for scientists not trained in neuroanatomy. Prior editions appeared in 1992 and 1997. The editors are in the department of anatomy and cell biology at the U. of Saskatchewan's School of Medicine. Plastic comb binding. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

4 Stars! from Doody