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Cells in human postmortem brain tissue slices remain alive for several weeks in culture

RONALD W. H. VERWER^*1, WIM T. J. M. C. HERMENS^*, PAUL A. DIJKHUIZEN^*,2, OLIVIER TER BRAKE^*, ROBERT E. BAKER^*, AHMAD SALEHI^*,3, ARJA A. SLUITER^*, MARLOES J. M. KOK^*, LINDA J. MÜLLER, JOOST VERHAAGEN^* and DICK F. SWAAB^*

Graduate School Neurosciences Amsterdam,
^* Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, and
Netherlands Ophthalmic Research Institute, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands

¹Correspondence: Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Meibergdreef 33, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail: r.verwer{at}nih.knaw.nl

Animal models for human neurological and psychiatric diseases only partially mimic the underlying pathogenic processes. Therefore, we investigated the potential use of cultured postmortem brain tissue from adult neurological patients and controls. The present study shows that human brain tissue slices obtained by autopsy within 8 h after death can be maintained in vitro for extended periods (up to 78 days) and can be manipulated experimentally. We report for the first time that 1) neurons and glia in such cultures could be induced to express the reporter gene LacZ after transduction with adeno-associated viral vectors and 2) cytochrome oxidase activity could be enhanced by the addition of pyruvate to the medium. These slice cultures offer new opportunities to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurological and psychiatric diseases and new therapeutic strategies.—Verwer, R. W. H., Hermens, W. T. J. M. C. Dijkhuizen, P. A., ter Brake, O., Baker, R. E., Salehi, A., Sluiter, A. A., Kok, M. J. M., Müller, L. J., Verhaagen, J., Swaab, D. F. Cells in human postmortem brain tissue slices remain alive for several weeks in culture.

Key Words: aging • Alzheimer’s disease • human brain • tissue culture • transgene expression

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