title: Serum-free culture of rat postnatal neurons derived from the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus.
abstract: Previous studies on dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMNV) neurons have mainly used in vivo animal models and in vitro brainstem slices. Primary culture of postnatal DMNV neurons in defined serum free medium has not been reported. We report a method for culture of postnatal rat DMNV neurons using serum free medium. Cultured DMNV neurons contain both Hu positive precursor cells and mature cells staining positively for microtubule associated protein 2 (MAP2) and choline acetyltransferase. Exposure of cultured DMNV neurons to glutamate (10(-7) to 10(-3)M) induced an increase in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) in a dose-dependent manner, indicating the functional presence of glutamate receptors. Voltage-dependent calcium currents were present in cultured DMNV neurons. Active cell proliferation was demonstrated by BrdU incorporation. Upon removal of beta FGF, the percentage of MAP2 positive mature neurons was significantly increased from 36+/-3 to 73+/-3%. Our study demonstrates that postnatal rat DMNV neurons cultured in serum free medium retain morphological and physiological characteristics of DMNV neurons in situ.
authors.affiliation: Michigan Gastrointestinal Peptide Center, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, 2101 Taubman, 1500 E. Medical Center Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. weizhenz@umich.edu
authors.forename: Weizhen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yuexian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Erika A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Mulholland
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002455:Cell Division; D002470:Cell Survival; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D006728:Hormones / Q000494:pharmacology; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000166:cytology*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D005227:Fatty Acids; D006728:Hormones; D014815:Vitamins; D002118:Calcium