title: Locally released small (non-protein) ninhydrin-reacting molecules underlie developmental differences of cultured medullary versus spinal dorsal horn neurons.
abstract: Neurons located in the trigeminal subnucleus caudalis (Vc) play crucial roles in pain and sensorimotor functions in the orofacial region. Because of many anatomical and functional similarities with the spinal dorsal horn (SDH), Vc has been termed the medullary dorsal horn--analogous to the SDH. Here, we report that when compared with embryonic SDH neurons in culture, neurons isolated from the Vc region showed significantly slower growth, lower glutamate receptor activity, and more cells undergoing cell death. SDH neuron development was inhibited in co-cultures of SDH and Vc tissues while Vc neuron development was promoted by co-culture with SDH tissues. Furthermore, we identified that small (non-protein) ninhydrin-reacting molecules purified from either embryonic or post-natal Vc-conditioned medium inhibited neuronal growth whereas ninhydrin-reacting molecules from SDH-conditioned medium promoted neuronal growth. These findings suggest the involvement of locally released factors in the region-specific regulation of neuronal development in Vc and SDH, central nervous system regions playing critical roles in pain, and point to novel avenues for investigating central nervous system regionalization and for designing therapeutic approaches to manage neurodegenerative diseases and pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, USA.
authors.forename: Yu-Feng
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pflueger
authors.forename: Shuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Shuang-Xiu
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Chun L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Kwan
authors.forename: Gail
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galasko
authors.forename: Barry J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Sessle
authors.forename: Xian-Min
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D048708:Cell Growth Processes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling / Q000379:methods; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000166:cytology*; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D025542:Neurofibromin 1 / Q000494:pharmacology; D025581:Neurofibromin 2 / Q000494:pharmacology; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009555:Ninhydrin / Q000378:metabolism*; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology*; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D025542:Neurofibromin 1; D025581:Neurofibromin 2; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles; D018698:Glutamic Acid; C022616:thiazolyl blue; D009555:Ninhydrin