An Overview of in vitro Methods to Study Microglia

Abstract

Neuroinflammation is a common feature in neurodegenerative diseases and strategies to modulate neuroinflammatory processes are increasingly considered as therapeutic options. In such strategies, glia cells rather than neurons represent the cellular targets. Microglia, the resident macrophages of the central nervous system, are principal players in neuroinflammation and detailed cellular biological knowledge of this particular cell type is therefore of pivotal importance. The last decade has shed new light on the origin, characteristics and functions of microglia, underlining the need for specific in vitro methodology to study these cells in detail. In this review we provide a comprehensive overview of existing methodology such as cell lines, stem cell-derived microglia and primary dissociated cell cultures, as well as discuss recent developments. As there is no in vitro method available yet that recapitulates all hallmarks of adult homeostatic microglia, we also discuss the advantages and limitations of existing models across different species.

Keywords: cell culture techniques; in vitro models; microglia; neurodegenerative diseases; stem cells.

FIGURE 1

Overview of protocols to differentiate human iPSC and ESC to microglia-like cells. Timelines are indicated in days. hiPSC and hESC are first differentiated to embryonic macrophage precursor cells, which is consistent with the in vivo developmental lineage of microglia. Subsequently, these precursor cells are differentiated into mature microglia-like cells.