title: Neurotrophin-3 promotes the survival of oligodendrocyte precursors in embryonic hippocampal cultures under chemically defined conditions.
abstract: embryonic rat hippocampal cells were cultured in basal medium with or without addition of the neurotrophin NT-3. After culturing in these extreme conditions, the effects of NT-3 on the neuronal and on the glial components were assessed. Neurons survived even in the absence of NT-3 but failed to reach terminal differentiation. On the other hand, NT-3 promoted the survival but not the proliferation and/or the differentiation of oligodendrocytes precursors present in the same culture, an effect that was reversed by the addition of neutralizing antibodies against NT-3. Type I or II astrocytes were not affected by NT-3. These results reinforce the role for NT-3 in oligodendrocyte lineage development and allow to dissect the roles of this neurotrophin in survival and in proliferation/differentiation of oligodendrocytes.
authors.affiliation: International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bertollini
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Ciotti
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cherubini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects; D003470:Culture Media / Q000494:pharmacology; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D020933:Neurotrophin 3; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D020933:Neurotrophin 3