title: Effect of fluorodeoxyuridine on neurons and non-neuronal cells in cerebral explants.
abstract: Fetal rat brain neurons are reported to show enhanced neurite development when treated with the mitotic inhibitors fluorodeoxyuridine (FUdR) or cytosine arabinoside (AraC). For AraC-treated rat cerebral explants, increased neurite growth occurs along with a change in the composition of the non-neuronal cell population and diminished non-neuronal cell proliferation. FUdR-treated rat cerebral explants were therefore cultured in an attempt to determine whether FUdR encourages neurite outgrowth by changing the composition and number of non-neuronal cells. Quantitative morphological analyses revealed a significant decrease in the incidence of non-neuronal cells, and an increase in neurite outgrowth for the FUdR-treated explants. These explants also exhibited an increased proportion of protoplasmic astrocytic-epithelial cells and a decreased proportion of fibroblastic-reactive microglial cells. Thus, FUdR may encourage neurite outgrowth through a curtailment of non-neuronal cell proliferation (primarily by fibroblastic-reactive microglial cells) and through the creation of a non-neuronal cell environment consisting almost entirely of protoplasmic astrocytes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of Otago Medical School, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Oorschot
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D002452:Cell Count; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000494:pharmacology; D003712:Dendrites / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005467:Floxuridine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D005467:Floxuridine; D003561:Cytarabine