title: Chicken embryo spinal cord slice culture protocol.
abstract: Slice cultures can facilitate the manipulation of embryo development both pharmacologically and through gene manipulations. In this reduced system, potential lethal side effects due to systemic drug applications can be overcome. However, culture conditions must ensure that normal development proceeds within the reduced environment of the slice. We have focused on the development of the spinal cord, particularly that of spinal motor neurons. We systematically varied culture conditions of chicken embryo slices from the point at which most spinal motor neurons had been born. We assayed the number and type of motor neurons that survived during the culture period and the position of those motor neurons compared to that in vivo. We found that serum type and neurotrophic factors were required during the culture period and were able to keep motor neurons alive for at least 24 hr and allow those motor neurons to migrate to appropriate positions in the spinal cord. We present these culture conditions and the methodology of preparing the embryo slice cultures using eviscerated chicken embryos embedded in agarose and sliced using a vibratome.
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Kristina C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Tubby
authors.forename: Dee
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Norval
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Price
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002642:Chick Embryo; D008867:Microtomy / Q000379:methods*; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D012685:Sepharose; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology*; D046509:Tissue Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D016610:Tissue Embedding / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D012685:Sepharose