AUTHOR=Lange Miranda L., Zeng Yan , Knight Andrew , Windebank Anthony , Trushina Eugenia TITLE=Comprehensive Method for Culturing Embryonic Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons for Seahorse Extracellular Flux XF24 Analysis JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology VOLUME=3 YEAR=2012 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2012.00175 DOI=10.3389/fneur.2012.00175 ISSN=1664-2295 ABSTRACT=

Changes in mitochondrial dynamics and function contribute to progression of multiple neurodegenerative diseases including peripheral neuropathies. The Seahorse Extracellular Flux XF24 analyzer provides a comprehensive assessment of the relative state of glycolytic and aerobic metabolism in live cells making this method instrumental in assessing mitochondrial function. One of the most important steps in the analysis of mitochondrial respiration using the Seahorse XF24 analyzer is plating a uniform monolayer of firmly attached cells. However, culturing of primary dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons is associated with multiple challenges, including their propensity to form clumps and detach from the culture plate. This could significantly interfere with proper analysis and interpretation of data. We have tested multiple cell culture parameters including coating substrates, culture medium, XF24 microplate plastics, and plating techniques in order to optimize plating conditions. Here we describe a highly reproducible method to obtain neuron-enriched monolayers of securely attached dissociated primary embryonic (E15) rat DRG neurons suitable for analysis with the Seahorse XF24 platform.