Cell Enumeration Assays: Application of the MTT and Sulforhodamine B Assays to Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated Neonatal Rodent Microglia.

Glial cell activation, in particular microglia, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative disorders as well as in chronic and neuropathic pain. This chapter compares two established cell enumeration assays, namely, the colorimetric 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide assay and the protein-binding sulforhodamine B assay for microglia as a function of culture condition and activation state. The pros and cons of each are then described.