Based on the unrivaled expertise and experiences in immune-oncology, Creative Biolabs has developed several microglia assays services for global clients to speed up the project’s development.

Background of microglia function

As innate immune cells of the brain, microglia cells provide the first line of defense against pathogens, such as bacteria, and viruses. At the same time, microglia cells are phagocytes that can secrete a variety of chemokines, proinflammatory cytokines, and anti-inflammatory cytokines. More and more studies have found that microglia play an important role in the development and homeostasis of the central nervous system. Microglia promote the maturation of neural circuits by secreting neurotrophic and growth factors that regulate the proliferation of oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and neuronal progenitors. To assist customers in microglia research faster, Creative Biolabs has developed several microglia assays.

Microglial Activation Assay

On the one hand, activation of microglia can be triggered by pathological conditions in vivo, and on the other hand, by stimuli of proteins, cytokines, and chemicals in vivo and in vitro. The common triggering substances include LPS, ATP, gp120, and so on.

To monitor microglia activation, we are dedicated to supporting custom high-quality methods including but not limited to the following method:

Microglia Phagocytosis Assays

Phagocytosis is a crucial function of microglia to maintain CNS system homeostasis. In pathological conditions, microglia can phagocytose pathogens, with extracellular protein aggregation, while apoptotic cell debris further inhibits inflammation and protect neurons. In addition to pathogenicity, microglial phagocytosis also participates in central nervous system development and synaptogenesis by eliminating nonfunctional synapses. Experienced in assays development, we have developed microglia phagocytosis assays for measuring microglial phagocytic ability using in vitro cultured primary microglia, while using target materials (e.g., beads or bio-particles) as the substrates for microglia to engulf.

Fig.1 Microglial phagocytosis assay using fluorescent latex beads. (Lian, 2016)

Microglial Migration Assay

Additionally, the migration of microglia plays an important role in maintaining brain homeostasis, and is associated with many brain diseases. It has been found that microglia migration can lead to cell accumulation at the site of injury. Here, we provide microglial migration assay that can quickly trigger and monitor microglia migration using microtubule assay. By combined with microscopic imaging, the assay allows simultaneous recording of cell movement and subcellular movement for quantitative analysis.

Fig.2 Migration assay. (Wu, 2014)

Advantages of Our Microglial Assay Service

• Excellent analytical performance
• Low reagent, short reaction time, and power consumption
• Excellent quality and timely feedback.

For more detailed information, please feel free to contact us or directly sent us an inquiry.

References

1. Wu, H.J.; et al. Analysis of microglial migration by a micropipette assay.Nature protocols. 2014, 9(2): 491-500.
2. Lian, H.; et al. Microglial phagocytosis assay. Bio-protocol.2016, 6(21), e1988.

For Research Use Only | Not For Clinical Use