Reactive astrocytes in explant cultures of glial scars derived from lesioned rat optic nerve: an ultrastructural study

Classic Studies on the Potential of Stem Cell Neuroregeneration

The 1990s and 2000s were the beginning of an exciting time period for developmental neuroscience and neural stem cell research. By better understanding brain plasticity and the birth of new neurons in the adult brain, contrary to established dogma, hope for therapy from devastating neurological diseases was generated. The potential for stem cells to provide functional recovery in humans remains to be further tested and to further move into the clinical trial realm. The future certainly has great promise on stem cells to assist in alleviation of difficult-to-treat neurologic disorders. This article reviews classic studies of the 1990s and 2000s that paved the way for the advances of today, which can in turn lead to tomorrow's therapies.

Astrocytes alter their polarity in organotypic slice cultures of rat visual cortex

The ultrastructure of astrocytes in an organotypic slice culture of the rat visual cortex was investigated using ultrathin sections and freeze-fracture replicas. After a culture period of 9-15 days, a glial scaffold formed that separated the bulk of the slice neuropil from the medium and the underlying plasma clot. However, the glial cells and processes did not build a dense barrier but allowed the outgrowth of neurites. A basal lamina covering the medium-oriented surface of the astrocytes was not found. In freeze-fracture replicas, orthogonal arrays of particles (OAP) were characteristic components of astrocytic membranes. The OAP density in membranes bordering the medium was 35 +/- 13 OAP/microns 2, corresponding to 2.5% of this membrane area; the OAP density in membranes within the slice neuropil was 22 +/- 12 OAP/microns 2, corresponding to 1.4% of this membrane area. Although the difference was significant, it was greatly reduced when comparing OAP densities in endfoot and non-endfoot membranes in vivo. Another node of polarity was recognized in astrocytes of the organotypic slice culture. In membranes of astrocytes bordering upon the medium, the density of non-OAP intramembranous particles (IMP) was clearly higher (1130 +/- 136 IMP/microns 2) than in membranes of astrocytes in the center of the slice (700 +/- 172 IMP/microns 2). This pronounced IMP-related polarity was observed neither in vivo nor in cultured astrocytes. The present study suggests, together with data from the literature, that the distribution of astrocytic OAP across the cell surface is influenced by the existence of a basal lamina and neuronal activity, and that astrocytes possess a more remarkable plasticity of membrane structure than previously suspected.

Brain injury in a dish: a model for reactive gliosis

Reactive gliosis is a powerful response to brain injury and subsequent neuronal damage in vivo. Neuronal cell cultures are now well established as assays to study this process in vitro. However, equivalent studies of purified glial cell populations have only recently been achieved, following the realization that glial cells produce many of the neuropeptides, transmitters and growth factors that are produced also by neurons. There is now scope for studies in vitro that use mixed, identified populations of glial and neuronal cells to dissect the interactions between the two. Such cultures also lend themselves to assays for potential therapeutic strategies for brain injury that take account of all the different cell types found in the brain.

Increased CNTF gene expression in process-bearing astrocytes following injury is augmented by R(-)-deprenyl

R(-)-deprenyl has been shown to rescue axotomized immature facial motoneurons with an efficacy comparable to that of the neurotrophic factors CNTF and BDNF (Salo and Tatton, J Neurosci Res 31:394-400, 1992; Ansari et al., J Neurosci 13:4042-4053, 1993). Recent work has suggested that some of the actions of (-)-deprenyl may be mediated through reactive astrocytes (Biagini et al., NeuroReport 4:955-958, 1993). To test this proposal we have developed an in vitro model of reactive gliosis consisting of a mixed astrocyte population of flat and process-bearing (PB) astroglia taken from postnatal day (PD) 2 or PD5 rat cerebral cortex. After mechanical wounding, PB astrocytes preferentially migrate into the wound zone while flat astrocytes maintain their position at the wound edge. CNTF mRNA was localized to PB astrocytes, but not flat astrocytes, as determined by in situ hybridization using biotin-labelled riboprobes. Following "wounding," there was an increase in CNTF mRNA in PB astrocytes only, which could be further enhanced by a single pulse of (-)-deprenyl (10(-8)-10(-11) M) 48 hr after injury. (-)-Deprenyl also increased the total process length of PB astrocytes after wounding by an average of 50%. The stereoisomer (+)-deprenyl (10(-9) M) had no effect on either astrocyte process length or CNTF mRNA content. This is the first report to our knowledge of an agent which can upregulate CNTF gene expression in astroglial cell culture as well as influence glial cell process length.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)