11 December 2023 1 2K Report

Dear colleagues,

I hope this message finds you well. In our laboratory, we routinely conduct primary neuronal cultures derived from embryonic cortex, hippocampus, and spinal cord. Generally, our cultures thrive, displaying robust growth, well-defined projections, and established connectivity. However, we have encountered a peculiar issue, which is emerging approximately 7-10 days post-plating.

The specific structures we observe during this time frame raise concerns, and we are reaching out to you all to inquire if others have experienced similar challenges and, if so, how they have successfully addressed them. Any advice or insights you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

For context, our culture protocol is outlined as follows:

  • Tissue Dissection: Following the dissection of the relevant tissue, we perform mechanical disaggregation to obtain small tissue pieces.
  • Trypsin Incubation: The tissue is then incubated with trypsin (0.25%) for 12-15 minutes at 37°C.
  • Trypsin Inactivation: To halt trypsin activity, we wash the tissue twice with plating media, comprising MEM, Horse Serum (10%), DNAse I (1%), and glutamine (1%).
  • Seeding: Neurons are seeded on poly-L-lysine 12mm cover glass at a confluence of 160,000 cells per cover.
  • Media Transition: After 1 day, the plating media is replaced with feeding media, which consists of MEM, Horse Serum (5%), FBS (5%), and a mix of nutrients and factors similar to B27.
  • If you have encountered and successfully resolved similar issues in your primary neuronal cultures or if you have any suggestions on troubleshooting steps, we would be extremely grateful for your guidance.

    Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

    Best regards,

    César O. Lara

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