Established cell line of microglia

Abstract

A subcultivatable, established microglia having the following properties. (a) Form: Both or either of a macrophage-like or spherical form in the presence of a granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulation factor and a branched form similar to branched microglia present in the brain in the absence of the factor. (b) Functional characteristics: specific affinity for the brain highly poor phagocytic action. (c) Cell proliferation: proliferative depending upon a granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulation factor. Preparation, separation, and screening methods of the microglia, a pharmaceutical composition using the microglia, and a method for treatment of cerebral diseases using the composition.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a subcultivatable, established cell line of microglia, a method of separating the same, and use thereof as a pharmaceutical carrier. [0002] Further, the present invention relates to a microglia into which an extraneous gene or a drug was introduced, a method of introducing it, and a pharmaceutical composition comprising the same. BACKGROUND ART [0003] There are quite a number of hereditary diseases in the nervous system, which occur due to various causative factors, for example by defect of a single enzyme, etc. or by unknown reasons. Under these circumstances, supplementary therapy is used to cope with a large number of such diseases. [0004] A large-number of studies have been made worldwide on the system of selective delivery to the brain. For introducing a gene into the brain in an animal, a method of using neuronphilic viruses as adenovirus vectors is devised, and a system for introducing a gene specifically into neurons is...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

In the brain, however, the blood-brain barrier is present, so it is difficult to conduct supplementary therapy and to introduce an effective drug, and even if a substance (e.g. anticancer drug, DNA, etc.) is introduced from a peripheral position, it cannot be introduced specifically into the brain.

Therefore, there was no method other than direct injection of the substance by surgical operations.

However, even in this method too, incorporation of liposomes into the brain is as low as about 1% based on the injection amount, so this method cannot be said to be specific for the brain.

As described above, the blood-brain barrier is present in the brain, so the brain is almost free of infiltration with cells or a substance from the periphery, thus making it difficult to introduce a drug or a gene into the brain.

For this primary culture, however, the brain should be excised and purified for use, and primary culture usually requires a period of about 2 weeks, so the procedures are cumbersome.

Further, the cells are difficult to proliferate during culture and hard to subculture, so after primary culture, it is extremely difficult to introduce a gene into the microglia to express it therein.

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