Selective cell culture of brain cells by serum-free, hormone-supplemented media: a comparative morphological study.

Abstract We cultured single cell suspensions derived from enzymatically digested rat and mouse brains in the serum-free, hormone-supplemented media originally established for culturing glioma (C6) and neuroblastoma cell lines (B104). We succeeded in selecting different cell types by varying the hormones added to the culture medium. In addition to the medium the attachment factors used for coating the culture dishes proved important for the establishment of a selective culture system. In a comparative morphological study we show that different particular microenvironmental conditions determine the growth and/or survival of different cell types of dissociated brain cells.