Immortalized Human Adult Brain Astrocytes (AST-1)

Immortalized Human Adult Brain Astrocytes (AST-1) is immortalized via the introduction of only the cytoplasmic content (non-DNA) of tumor cells into primary human brain astrocytes, thereby resulting in permanent growth activation. One key aspect of such immortalization method is its resemblance of the immortalized cells to its primary counterparts (i.e. grows in monolayer). AST-1 cells can be used for exploring the diversity of astrocytes functions, including regulation of neurogenesis and control of synaptic functions.