Effects of combined BDNF and GDNF treatment on cultured dopaminergic midbrain neurons.
Neural transplantation is an experimental therapy for Parkinson's disease. Pretreatment of fetal donor tissue with neurotrophic factors may improve survival of grafted dopaminergic neurons. Free-floating roller tube cultures of fetal rat ventral mesencephalon were treated with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), or a combination of both. Dopamine content of the culture medium, the number of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive neurons, and culture volumes were moderately increased in the BDNF- and GDNF-treated cultures but significantly increased by 6.8-, 3.2- and 2.4-fold, respectively after treatment with the combination of both factors. We conclude that pretreatment of dopaminergic tissue in culture with a combination of BDNF and GDNF may be an effective means to improve the quality of tissue prior to grafting.
Sautter
J
J
Department of Neurosurgery, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Meyer
M
M
Spenger
C
C
Seiler
R W
RW
Widmer
H R
HR
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000032:analysis; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000196:embryology; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000032:analysis
D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; C495041:Gdnf protein, rat; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase; D004298:Dopamine