Current Methods for the Isolation and Cultivation of Microglia (Review)

The role and morphological features of microglia (M1 and M2 microglia, “stellate”, “amoeboid”, giant, round-shaped, rod-shaped, dysfunctional, etc.) in vivo under physiological conditions and during the development of neurodegenerative diseases have been described. Various methods and techniques of microglia isolation from adult (density gradient isolation, use of “magnetic beads”, from mesenchymal bone marrow progenitor cells) and newborn (obtaining from a mixed glial culture, density gradient isolation) animals have been considered, including microglia isolation from the cerebral cortex or hippocampus. Various methods of cell cultivation have been shown, including obtaining two-dimensional and three-dimensional cell cultures (on scaffolds, hydrogels, nanofibers), co-cultures on slice cultures of the hippocampus, as well as changes in microglia during cultivation.