Isolation and long-term culture of neural stem cells from Acipenser persicus (Borodin, 1897)

In the present study, an in vitro brain cell culture was developed from neural cells of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus). The tissue samples collected from the anterior, middle and posterior regions of the brain were cultivated separately in DMEM/F12 medium supplemented with 15% fetal bovine serum, antibiotic and antimycotic. The medium was refreshed every 3 days. The cells became confluent after about 3 weeks from the initial time of seeding. The cultured cells from the posterior part of the brain showed high potential of proliferation as they had been passaged 16 times in more than 11 months. To determine optimal temperature, the brain cells were incubated at four temperatures including; 20, 22, 25 and 28°C. The best cultivation temperature was obtained at 25°C. The cultured cells from posterior part of the brain were cryopreserved successfully and the survival rate was 70% after thawing. Immunocytochemistry using antibody against nesting showed that some cells were immunopositive for nesting. Finally, these results suggested that cell cultures from posterior part of the Persian sturgeon brain with high proliferation capacity can be useful for research on brain cells in A. persicus in the future.