Method Article

A Method for Generating Oligodendrocyte-Conditioned Medium

July 8th, 2025

In This Article

Abstract

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Source: Mazuir, E., et al. Generation of Oligodendrocytes and Oligodendrocyte-Conditioned Medium for Co-Culture Experiments. J. Vis. Exp. (2020)

This video demonstrates the production of oligodendrocyte-conditioned medium (OCM) from oligodendrocyte lineage cells by stressing them to enhance their molecular release into the medium. This medium, which is rich in growth factors, cytokines, and other bioactive molecules, can be added to neuron cultures to gain insight into the impact of oligodendrocytes-secreted factors on neuronal physiology and connectivity.

Protocol

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1. OL lineage (OL) cell harvesting and culture

NOTE: These steps should be performed in a laminar flow hood under sterile conditions.

  1. On the day after shaking, prepare the Bottenstein-Sato (BS) medium according to Table 1.
  2. Rinse coated Petri dishes 3 times with sterile distilled water.
  3. Harvest flasks' supernatant containing mainly OL lineage cells but also some microglial cells and plate it on non-coated 100 mm Petri dishes.
    NOTE: This step allows the removal of microglial cells through differential fast adhesion on the dish surface.
  4. Incubate the Petri dishes for 15 min in a humidified incubator at 37 °C under 5% CO2.
  5. Fill each T150 flask with 25 mL of warm, freshly prepared culture medium and incubate in a humidified incubator at 37 °C under 5% CO2 until the second shaking.
  6. Transfer the supernatant from the Petri dishes into new non-coated 100 mm Petri dishes to allow adhesion of residual microglial cells.
  7. Incubate the Petri dishes for 15 min in a humidified incubator at 37 °C under 5% CO2.
  8. Remove the supernatant, which contains non-adherent OL lineage cells, and transfer it into 50 mL tubes (supernatant from 2 Petri dishes for a 50 mL tube). Discard Petri dishes plated with microglia.
  9. Centrifuge the supernatant for 5 min at 423 x g. Carefully remove the supernatant and resuspend the cell pellet with 1 mL of BS medium. Pool all pellets in a common 50 mL tube and adjust the volume to 10 mL with BS medium.
  10. Determine cell density by counting cells under a microscope.
    NOTE: A cell density between 3 x 105 cells/mL and 5 x 105 cells/mL should be obtained.
  11. Add 20 mL of BS if cell density is higher than or equal to 4 x 105 cells/mL to obtain a final volume of 30 mL, or add only 10 mL of BS if cell density is less than 4 x 105 cells/mL to obtain a final volume of 20 mL.
  12. Plate two or three pre-coated 100 mm Petri dishes with 10 mL of cell suspension. Incubate in a humidified incubator at 37 °C under 5% CO2.
  13. Clear the debris from the Petri dishes by refreshing all of the BS medium 2 h later.
    NOTE: Examine the culture under the microscope before and after clearing to verify cell density and efficiency of debris removal.
  14. Incubate for 2 days in BS medium in a humidified incubator at 37 °C under 5% CO2.
    NOTE: Examine the culture under the microscope. The confluence should be 70% to 80%.

2. OCM production

NOTE: Perform these steps in a laminar flow hood under sterile conditions.

  1. Prepare NB-B27low medium according to Table 2.
  2. Renew the culture medium with 10 mL of warm NB-B27low medium. Incubate for 2 days in a humidified incubator at 37 °C under 5% CO2.
  3. Harvest the OCM, i.e., the supernatant containing OL-secreted factors. Filter-sterilize OCM using a 0.22 µm filter.
    NOTE: Store OCM at 4 °C for a maximum of 2 months.

Table 1: Preparation of Bottenstein-Sato (BS) media.

Bottenstein-Sato (BS) mediaFinal concentration
Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium
Penicillin-Streptomycin100 IU/mL
apo-Transferrin human100 µg/mL
BSA (Bovine Serum Albumin)100 µg/mL
Insulin5 µg/mL
PDGF10 ng/mL
Progesterone62 ng/mL
Putrescine dihydrochloride16 µg/mL
Sodium selenite40 ng/mL
T3 (3,3',5-Triiodo-L-thyronine sodium salt)30 ng/mL
T4 (L-Thyroxine)40 ng/mL

Table 2: Preparation of NB-B27low and NB-B27 media.

NB-B27 low mediaFinal concentration
Neurobasal
B27 supplement0.5x
L-glutamine0.5 mM
Penicillin-Streptomycin100 IU/mL
NB-B27 mediaFinal concentration
Neurobasal
B27 supplement1x
L-glutamine0.5 mM
Penicillin-Streptomycin100 IU/mL

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Disclosures

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No conflicts of interest declared.

Materials

List of materials used in this article
NameCompanyCatalog NumberComments
B27 supplementThermoFisher17504044
D-(+)-Glucose solutionSigmaG8769
Dulbecco's Modified Eagle MediumThermoFisher31966021
Ethanol 100%Sigma32221-M
Ethanol 70%VWR Chemicals83801.36
Fetal Calf SerumThermoFisher10082147
NeurobasalThermoFisher21103049
Penicillin-StreptomycinThermoFisher15140122
Phosphate Buffered Saline without calcium and magnesiumThermoFisherA1285601
Polyethylenimine(PEI)SigmaP3143
Bottenstein-Sato (BS) media
apo-Transferrin humanSigmaT1147
BSA (Bovine Serum Albumin)SigmaA4161
Dulbecco's Modified Eagle MediumThermoFisher31966021
InsulinSigmaI5500
PDGFPeprotechAF-100-13A
Penicillin-StreptomycinThermoFisher15140122
ProgesteroneSigmaP8783
Putrescine dihydrochlorideSigmaP5780
Sodium seleniteSigmaS5261
T3 (3,3',5-Triiodo-L-thyronine sodium salt)SigmaT6397
T4 (L-Thyroxine)SigmaT1775
Tools
0.22 µm filterSartorius514-7010
1 mL syringeTerumo1611127
100 mm Petri dishDutscher193100
15 mL tubeCorning Life Science734-1867
50 mL tubeCorning Life Science734-1869
60 mm Petri dishDutscher67003

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Tags

Oligodendrocyte Conditioned MediumOligodendrocyte Lineage CellsCell Attachment EnhancementNutrient Poor Medium IncubationMedium Filtration SterilizationBioactive Molecule SecretionOCM Storage PreservationPolymer Coated Petri DishHumidified Incubator ConditionsLaminar Flow Hood Sterility

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