Cerebellar granule cells show age-dependent migratory differences in vitro.
Developmental differences between cerebellar granule cells during their migratory period were revealed using dissociated granule cell cultures isolated from 4, 7, or 10 days old (P4, P7, P10) mice. Under all culture conditions, the great majority of cultivated cell populations consisted of those granule cells that had not reach their final destination in the internal granule cell layer (IGL) by the age of isolation. In vitro morphological development and the expression of migratory markers (TAG-1, astrotactin, or EphB2) showed similar characteristics between the cultures. The migration of 1008 granule cells isolated from P4, P7, and P10 cerebella and cultivated under identical conditions were analyzed using statistical methods. In vitro time-lapse videomicroscopy revealed that P4 cells possessed the fastest migratory speed while P10 granule cells retained their migratory activity for the longest time in culture. Cultures obtained from younger postnatal ages showed more random migratory trajectories than P10 cultures. Our observations indicate that despite similar morphological and molecular properties, migratory differences exist in granule cell cultures isolated from different postnatal ages. Therefore, the age of investigation can substantially influence experimental results on the regulation of cell migration.
Tárnok
Krisztián
K
Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. stny. 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary.
Czirók
András
A
Czöndör
Katalin
K
Schlett
Katalin
K
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016501:Neurites / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure