Abstract
Phagocytosis is essential for microglial clearance of apoptotic cells, extracellular protein aggregates, and infectious bacteria in the central nervous system (CNS). While the preparation of primary microglial culture has been described elsewhere, this protocol describes the microglial phagocytosis experimental procedure and the subsequent measurement of microglial phagocytic ability using fluorescent latex beads or fluorescent amyloid beta 42 (Aβ42) peptides.