title: Maintenance of host medullary nucleus gracilis neurons after C3 homografting of fetal spinal cord into host fasciculus gracilis.
abstract: The fasciculus gracilis (FG) of the third cervical spinal cord segment (C3) of adult rats was aspirated and fresh whole pieces of rat 14-day gestation cervical spinal cord, prelabeled with Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin, immediately placed in the pocket of one-half the operates. One to three months later there were no transplant derived rostro-caudal nerve fibers in the C1 or C2 segment of the aspiration-only or aspiration-graft FG. However, the neurons of the nucleus gracilis of the host medulla of the aspiration-only group were significantly atrophied whereas the neurons of the aspiration-graft group were not statistically different from normal. There were normal numbers of neurons in all groups. Using immunohistochemical double labeling for prelabeled astrocytes with PHAL and GFAP, graft-derived astrocytes were found in the nucleus gracilis of the host medulla. These data indicate that the trophic action of spinal graft-derived astrocytes maintained neurons in the medulla of the host nucleus gracilis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Central Nervous System Injury and Regeneration, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Washington, DC 20422.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Bernstein
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Goldberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D002470:Cell Survival; D006085:Graft Survival; D008297:Male; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000637:transplantation*