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Astrocytes pp 155–168Cite as

In Vitro Engulfment Assay to Measure Phagocytic Activity of Astrocytes Using Synaptosomes

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1938))

Abstract

Astrocytes eliminate unnecessary synapses, neural debris, and pathogenic proteins such as amyloid β plaque. Although the emerging evidences suggest that the phagocytic roles of astrocytes are critical in maintaining brain homeostasis during development as well as pathogenic conditions, the efficient assay for measuring phagocytic capacity and kinetics of astrocytes has been lacking. Here we present in vitro engulfment assay using purified astrocytes and synaptosomes. Based on imaging methods, either fluorescent or pH indicator-conjugated synaptosomes can be used in this assay.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank all members in Chung’s laboratory for helpful discussion. This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIP) (NRF-2016M3C7A1905391,NRF-2016R1C1B3006969, and NRF-2018R1A4A1020922) (W.-S. C).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea

    Youkyeong Gloria Byun & Won-Suk Chung

Authors
  1. Youkyeong Gloria Byun
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  2. Won-Suk Chung
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Won-Suk Chung .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

    Barbara Di Benedetto

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Byun, Y.G., Chung, WS. (2019). In Vitro Engulfment Assay to Measure Phagocytic Activity of Astrocytes Using Synaptosomes. In: Di Benedetto, B. (eds) Astrocytes. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1938. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9068-9_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9068-9_11

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-9067-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-9068-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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