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Overview
Rat Astrocytes-cerebellar (RA-c) is a cell model used for research applications where physiologically relevant identity and donor background support interpretation of experimental readouts. Rat Astrocytes derived from Cerebellum (cerebellar) within the Nervous system.
Astrocytes are the major cell type in the mammalian brain. They provide a variety of supportive functions to their partner neurons in the central nervous system (CNS), such as neuronal guidance during development, nutritional and metabolic support throughout life [1]. Astrocytes have also been implicated in various pathological processes [2]. Impairment of normal astrocyte functions during stroke and other insults can critically influence neuron survival. Long-term recovery after brain injury, through neurite outgrowth, synaptic plasticity, or neuron regeneration, is also influenced by astrocyte surface molecule expression and trophic factor release [3]. Numerous studies have demonstrated that astrocytes are among the most functionally diverse group of cells in the CNS [4]. Much of what we have learned about astrocytes is from in vitro studies and astrocyte culture is a useful tool for exploring the diverse properties of this cell type. iXCells Biotechnologies provides high quality Rat Astrocytes-cerebellar (RA-c), which are isolated from postnatal day 2 rat cerebellum and cryopreserved at P1, with >0.5 million cells in each vial. RA-c express GFAP and are negative for HIV-1, HBV, HCV, mycoplasma, bacteria, yeast, and fungi. They can further expand for 5 population doublings in Astrocyte Medium (Cat# MD-0039) under the condition suggested by iXCells Biotechnologies.
Key elements and design rationale
- Cell identity: Astrocytes (Primary Cells, Custom Cells)
- Source context: Cerebellum; cerebellar; Nervous
- Donor background: Age: Postnatal
- Biosafety level: BSL-1 (follow your institution’s biosafety program and local regulations)
Product-specific elements (such as tissue source, donor background, and cell classification) help frame how results should be interpreted across assays and experimental conditions.
Biological background
Neural and glial cell models support studies of neuronal signaling, synaptic biology, neuroinflammation, and cell-type–specific responses to injury or disease-relevant stimuli.
Across primary and specialty cell models, experimental outcomes can be influenced by donor heterogeneity, passage history, confluence, and media composition. For interpretation, it is common to validate key markers or functional phenotypes in the user’s assay context and to document culture variables consistently.
Research relevance and current trends
- Increasing use of primary and specialty cells to improve translational relevance for target biology and phenotypic screening.
- Adoption of 3D culture formats and co-culture systems to better capture tissue microenvironments and cell–cell interactions.
- Integration of functional readouts with single-cell and multi-omics profiling to connect phenotype with molecular state.
- Growth of human-relevant neural models (including glial components) to study circuit- and inflammation-linked phenotypes.
Common research applications
- Profile identity markers by flow cytometry or immunostaining in cultured cells
- Quantify neurite outgrowth and synaptic marker profiles in neural cultures
- Quantify functional responses to defined stimuli relevant to the model system
- Compare baseline phenotype across donors/conditions using gene expression profiling
- Measure neuroinflammatory signaling in neuron–glia or microglia-enriched models
Interpretation typically focuses on how a perturbation (e.g., cytokine exposure, metabolic stress, genetic manipulation, or compound treatment) shifts marker profiles or functional readouts relative to an appropriate control matched for donor and culture variables.
Notes for experimental interpretation
- Donor-to-donor heterogeneity can influence baseline phenotype and treatment response; include biological replicates when feasible.
- Passage number, confluence, and media composition can shift gene expression and functional readouts; track and report these variables consistently.
- Contamination control (including routine mycoplasma monitoring) supports reproducibility in downstream assays.
- Use appropriate negative/positive controls for the readout (e.g., unstimulated controls, pathway agonists/antagonists) to contextualize observed changes.
Customization & Add-ons: Can't find the cell line you need—or require a custom cell-based solution for your project? We can help you source the best match or support custom cell line services for diverse research needs, including cell line sourcing and selection (species, tissue, and disease model matching), stable cell line engineering (overexpression, knockdown, or knockout via CRISPR/Cas9, shRNA, or sgRNA), reporter gene integration (GFP, RFP, luciferase, and other fluorescent or bioluminescent constructs), genome editing and knockin (point mutations, tagged endogenous proteins, conditional alleles), inducible expression systems (Tet-On/Off and other regulatable constructs), drug resistance marker selection (puromycin, G418, hygromycin, and others), custom growth and media optimisation for specific assay requirements, scale-up production for high-throughput screening campaigns, and authentication and QC services (STR profiling, mycoplasma testing, viability assessment). Click Talk to a Scientist to submit a request, email us at support@biohippo.com, or explore our Research Services for additional support—our team will follow up with feasibility details and next steps.
