Skip to main content

Preparation and Culture of Adrenal Chromaffin Cells

  • Protocol
  • First Online:
Neurotrophic Factors

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 846))

Abstract

Cultured chromaffin cells have been used for almost 40 years in the study of different cell functions using biochemical, electrophysiological, pharmacological, and toxicological approaches. Chromaffin cells are essentially secretory cells that are used to model sympathetic neurons or neuroendocrine cells. In this chapter, we describe the most common methods currently used to isolate and culture chromaffin cells from the animals used most commonly: cows, rats, and mice. We also provide some advice on the use of these cells in the laboratory.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Protocol
USD 49.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Kloppenborg PW, Island DP, Liddle GW, Michelakis AM, and Nicholson WE (1968) A method of preparing adrenal cell suspensions and its applicability to the in vitro study of adrenal metabolism. Endocrinology 82, 1053–1058

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Hochman J, and Perlman RL (1976) Catecho-lamine secretion by isolated adrenal cells. Biochim Biophys Acta 421, 168–175

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Livett BG (1984) Adrenal medullary chromaffin cells in vitro. Physiol Rev 64, 1103–1161

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Moro MA, Lopez MG, Gandia L, Michelena P, and Garcia AG (1990) Separation and culture of living adrenaline- and noradrenaline-containing cells from bovine adrenal medullae. Anal Biochem 185, 243–248

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Gilabert JA (2004) Necessary conditions to maintain rat adrenal chromaffin cells in primary culture. In Cell Biology of the Chromaffin cell. Borges, R & Gandia, L. Eds. La Laguna. pp 269–274. http://webpages.ull.es/users/isccb12/TheBook.htm

  6. Sorensen JB, Nagy G, Varoqueaux F, Nehring RB, Brose N, Wilson MC, and Neher E (2003) Differential control of the releasable vesicle pools by SNAP-25 splice variants and SNAP-23. Cell 114, 75–86

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Strober W (2001) Trypan blue exclusion test of cell viability. Curr Protoc Immunol Appendix 3, Appendix 3B

    Google Scholar 

  8. O’Connor DT, Mahata SK, Mahata M, Jiang Q, Hook VY, and Taupenot L (2007) Primary culture of bovine chromaffin cells. Nat Protoc 2, 1248–1253

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Krause W, Michael N, Lubke C, Livett BG, and Oehme P (1996) Catecholamine release from fractionated chromaffin cells. Eur J Pharmacol 302, 223–228

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Livett BG, Boksa P, Dean DM, Mizobe F, and Lindenbaum MH (1983) Use of isolated chromaffin cells to study basic release mechanisms. J Auton Nerv Syst 7, 59–86

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Fenwick EM, Fajdiga PB, Howe NB, and Livett BG (1978) Functional and morphological characterization of isolated bovine adrenal medullary cells. J Cell Biol 76, 12–30

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Almazan G, Aunis D, Garcia AG, Montiel C, Nicolas GP, and Sanchez-Garcia P (1984) Effects of collagenase on the release of [3 H]-noradrenaline from bovine cultured adrenal chromaffin cells. Br J Pharmacol 81, 599–610

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Bader MF, Ciesielski-Treska J, Thierse D, Hesketh JE, and Aunis D (1981) Immunocytochemical study of microtubules in chromaffin cells in culture and evidence that tubulin is not an integral protein of the chromaffin granule membrane. J Neurochem 37, 917–933

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Baker PF, and Knight DE (1981) Calcium control of exocytosis and endocytosis in bovine adrenal medullary cells. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 296, 83–103

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are indebted to the contributions of our predecessors working in the field of cell culture. This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN, Grants # BFU BFU2007-64963, CSD2008-00005 and BFU2010-15822) and the Canary Islands Government (GC, Grants # C2008/01000239). N.D. is a recipient of an FPU scholarship from MICINN, M.R. received a grant from CajaCanarias, and J.D.M. is the holder of a “Ramón y Cajal” contract from the MICINN.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ricardo Borges .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this protocol

Cite this protocol

Domínguez, N., Rodríguez, M., Machado, J.D., Borges, R. (2012). Preparation and Culture of Adrenal Chromaffin Cells. In: Skaper, S. (eds) Neurotrophic Factors. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 846. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-536-7_20

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-536-7_20

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-535-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-536-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

Publish with us

Policies and ethics