Optimizing Isolation and Purification of Murine Glomerular Mesangial Cells

Mesangial cells (MCs) are stromal cells located in the middle space of the glomerulus, with pivotal functions in glomerular homeostasis. Methods for isolating, purifying, and culturing glomerular MCs have been developed and optimized since the 1980s for use in biomedical research, particularly in the field of nephrology. Mice are the most frequently used experimental animal models in research on renal diseases. In this study, we developed an optimized protocol for murine MCs isolation and ex vivo cell culture. These cells can be passaged multiple times, frozen, revived, and cultured without compromising cell growth or protein expression. This optimized approach significantly reduces the study duration for researchers and enables long-term cell preservation. The necessary equipment for the procedures is easily accessible in a basic biomedical laboratory, and the procedural steps are straightforward. The acquisition of target cells requires only 2-3 weeks, a reduction of at least 1 week compared to existing methods.