Neuroscience

Crosstalk between neurons and oligodendrocytes is important for proper brain functioning. Multiple co-culture methods have been developed to study oligodendrocyte maturation, myelination or the effect of oligodendrocytes on neurons. However, most of these methods contain cells derived from animal models. In the current protocol, we co-culture human neurons with human oligodendrocytes. Neurons and oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) were differentiated separately from pluripotent stem cells according to previously published protocols. To study neuron-glia cross-talk, neurons and OPCs were plated in co-culture mode in optimized conditions for additional 28 days, and prepared for OPC maturation and neuronal morphology analysis. To our knowledge, this is one of the first neuron-OPC protocols containing all human cells. Specific neuronal abnormalities not observed in mono-cultures of Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) neurons, became apparent when TSC neurons were co-cultured with TSC OPCs. These results show that this co-culture system can be used to study human neuron-OPC interactive mechanisms involved in health and disease.

Compared to tissue sectioning techniques, the technique of teasing single nerve fibers provides a better way to understand the structures of myelin sheaths and axons of the peripheral myelinated nerves. This protocol describes a method for preparation of teased single nerve fibers from rat sciatic nerve. In this protocol, fixed nerves are teased into single individual fibers and arranged onto adhesion microscope slides for further immuno-staining.