Analysing the depletion of microglia and myeloid cells in the cd11b-dtr/cd45-dtr mice.

Abstract

Predecessor experiments have shown that microglia and myeloid cells are depleted in cd45-dtr homozygous mice but we wanted to test if cd11b-dtr/cd45-dtr heterozygous mice are able to deplete these cells just as efficiently. We generated transgenic cd11b-dtr/cd45-dtr heterozygous mice and administered different concentrations of diphtheria toxin to analyse the depletion profile of both types of mice. After which the spleen and bone marrow were analysed for myeloid cell populations via fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and cell counting under a light-field microscope. The brains were analysed for microglia via FACS. A blood analysis was carried out using a haematology analyser machine. It was found that cd11b-dtr/cd45-dtr heterozygous mice are able to deplete microglial cells (in the brain) and myeloid cells (in the spleen and bone marrow, and blood) but the depletion was not as efficient as that observed in the cd45-dtr homozygous mice.