Gibco® Rat Glial Precusor Cells (rGPC)

Gibco Rat GPCs

  • Each vial contains 1 x 106 cells isolated from newborn Sprague-Dawley rat cortices
  • Cryopreserved at the end of passage 2 (P2)
  • Minimal variability across lots
     

More than 80% of GPCs retain their undifferentiated phenotype

The presence of platelet-derived growth factor AA homodimer (PDGF-AA) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in complete GPC growth medium allows rat GPCs to remain undifferentiated. Figure 1 shows more than 80% of the GPC population retain the undifferentiated phenotypic marker A2B5.


 Figure 1.  Rat GPCs stained by indirect immunofluorescence for the cell-surface marker A2B5 (green). Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue).  Cells were maintained in the undifferentiated state in GPC recovery media for three days prior to 4% paraformaldehyde fixation and staining.

Components of GPC Recovery Media

ProductQuantityCat. No.
StemPro NSC SFM1 kitA1050901
GlutaMAX-1 Supplement100 mL35050-061
PDGF-AA Rec Hu10 µgPHG0035

Differentiation of Gibco Rat GPCs

Upon expansion, rat GPCs retain their differentiation potential into oligodendrocytes and astrocytes.  Figure 2 shows rat GPCs differentiating into oligodendrocytes. More than 30% of rat GPCs were stained positive for GalC (oligodendrocyte specific marker).

 Figure 2.  Rat GPCs differentiating to oligodendrocytes.  The cells were differentiated in growth medium lacking PDGF-AA, EGF, and bFGF, but supplemented with 2% FBS for three days prior to fixation with 4% paraformaldehyde and subsequent staining.  The cell-surface marker GalC was detected by indirect immunofluorescence (green) in ≥30% of the cells in the culture.  Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue).

Proliferation of GPCs upon recovery

Gibco rGPCs can be further expanded for at least one passage upon thawing in GPC recovery media (StemPro NSC SFM, GlutaMAX-I, and PDGF-AA).  The proliferation abilities afford researchers a more than 2-fold increase in cell numbers while the cells retain their typical morphology (Figure 3).


 Figure 3.  Brightfield image of Rat GPCs at passage 3 (P3) that have been cultured in complete StemPro NSC SFM supplemented with 2 mM GlutaMAX-I and 10 ng/mL PDGF-AA (i.e., complete GPC growth medium) for three days.  The image was captured using a 10X objective lens.
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For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.