Volumes used in this protocol are for 75 cm² flasks; proportionally reduce or increase amount of dissociation medium for culture vessels of other sizes.

1. Remove and discard culture medium.
2. Briefly rinse the cell layer with Ca++/Mg++ free Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline (DPBS) or 0.25% (w/v) Trypsin - 0.53 mM EDTA solution to remove all traces of serum which contains trypsin inhibitor.
3. Add 2.0 to 3.0 mL of Trypsin-EDTA solution to flask and observe cells under an inverted microscope until cell layer is dispersed (usually within 5 to 15 minutes).
   Note: To avoid clumping, do not agitate the cells by hitting or shaking the flask while waiting for the cells to detach. Cells that are difficult to detach may be placed at 37°C to facilitate dispersal.
4. Add 6.0 to 8.0 mL of complete growth medium and aspirate cells by gently pipetting.
5. Transfer cell suspension to a centrifuge tube and spin at approximately 125 x g  for 5 to 10 minutes. Discard supernatant.
6. Resuspend the cell pellet in fresh growth medium. Add appropriate aliquots of the cell suspension to new culture vessels. An inoculum of 2 X 10⁴ to 4 X 10⁴ viable cells/cm² is recommended.
7. Incubate cultures at 37°C. We recommend that you subculture cultures when they reach a cell concentration between 1 X 10⁵ and 2 X 10⁵ cells/cm².

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Toda K, et al. Biochemical and cellular properties of three immortalized Schwann cell lines expressing different levels of the myelin-associated glycoprotein. J. Neurochem. 63(5):1646-1657, 1994. PubMed: 7523597

Sasagasako N, et al. Myelin gene expression in immortalized Schwann cells: relationship to cell density and proliferation. J. Neurochem. 66(4): 1432-1439, 1996. PubMed: 8627295