Schwann cell myelination in a chemically defined medium: demonstration of a requirement for additives that promote Schwann cell extracellular matrix formation

Primary cultures of embryonic rat Schwann cells and sensory nerve cells can be grown in the serum-free defined medium N2, but the Schwann cells fail to deposit extracellular matrix and do not ensheath or myelinate axons. Previously these functions could be induced only in media supplemented with serum and chick embryo extract. Here we show that supplementing N2 medium with ascorbic acid and a commercial preparation of the glycoprotein fetuin or purified bovine serum albumin in the absence of serum or other undefined media components leads to increased production of Schwann cell extracellular matrix and extensive myelin formation by Schwann cells. Ascorbic acid is required for production of collagen type IV. Both ascorbic acid and one of the proteins are required for optimal extracellular matrix formation and myelination. These results lend support to the hypothesis that production of extracellular matrix by Schwann cells is necessary for myelination of nerve fibers.     

Effects of ascorbic acid, dexamethasone, and insulin on the catecholamine and opioid peptide stores of cultured adrenal medullary chromaffin cells

Bovine adrenal medullary chromaffin cells cultured in serum-free medium were examined for changes in their catecholamine and opioid peptide stores following exposure to dexamethasone, ascorbic acid, or insulin for 2 to 12 days. Dexamethasone failed to alter cellular catecholamine levels, measured by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection, or cellular opioid peptide content, measured by an enkephalin radioreceptor assay. Chromaffin cells cultured in medium supplemented with ascorbic acid retained high ascorbate contents for 2 to 3 days, despite the rapid loss of this vitamin from the culture medium (approximately 50% lost in 2 hr). The epinephrine and norepinephrine contents of chromaffin cell cultures supplemented with ascorbate for 7 days were increased approximately 10% compared to cultures without added ascorbic acid; ascorbate had no effect on chromaffin cell opioid peptide levels. Addition of insulin to chromaffin cell cultures produced a doubling of cellular protein and opioid peptide levels by 6 days and produced a concentration-dependent increase in the dopamine and norepinephrine contents of the cells with only a slight elevation in cell epinephrine. Chromaffin cells were also tested for the ability to resynthesize their catecholamine and opioid peptide stores following depletion as the result of secretion evoked by acetylcholine or nicotine. The cellular stores of norepinephrine and dopamine were resynthesized within 3 days following secretagogue-evoked depletion. Epinephrine stores were incompletely replenished with only 20% of the epinephrine lost via secretion recovered in 7 days. Opioid peptide levels were maximally recovered (50% of the amount secreted) within 1 day. Addition of ascorbic acid, dexamethasone, or insulin to the medium failed to enhance the recovery of catecholamine stores.     

Role of the extracellular matrix in myelination of peripheral nerve.

Assembly of the extracellular matrix (ECM) has been tightly linked to compact myelin formation in the peripheral nervous system. We recently demonstrated that myelination of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) axons by Schwann cells may occur in the absence of basal lamina. We have now determined whether laminin deposition occurs around myelinating SC, even though basal lamina has not been assembled. DRG/SC co-cultures were prepared from E15 rat embryos and incubated in fully defined medium (B27) with and without ascorbic acid for 21-24 days. Cultures were stained with a rabbit anti-laminin antibody and examined by laser confocal fluorescence microscopy. Myelination occurred in both groups. In the presence of ascorbic acid, there was dense even laminin staining around myelinating SC. In the absence of ascorbic acid, laminin staining was also present but was irregular and less dense. DRG and SC were co-cultured without ascorbic acid in the presence or absence of a function blocking anti-beta(1) integrin receptor antibody. The antibody completely inhibited myelination. Finally, DRG/SC co-cultures were prepared both with and without ascorbic acid and incubated under control conditions or in the presence of continual, gentle motion. Movement in the absence of ECM significantly inhibited myelination. This demonstrates that laminin deposition on the surface of SC but not ECM assembly is required for formation of compact myelin. ECM is required to provide mechanical stability during the process of myelination.     

海马神经元条件培养液体外诱导大鼠骨髓间质干细胞向神经元样细胞和神经胶质样 细胞的分化：与含b-FGF培养基和无血清培养基的比较*☆

背景：目前关于骨髓间质干细胞能否向神经元方向分化的报道不多,且争论多集中在分化后的神经元是否仅具有神经元形态而不具有神经元功能。 目的：探讨海马神经元条件培养液诱导大鼠骨髓间质干细胞向神经元样细胞和神经胶质样细胞分化的可能性。 方法：将第5代大鼠骨髓间质干细胞分为4组：条件培养基组加入海马神经元和胶质细胞的培养液;b-FGF组加入含b-FGF的DMEM培养基;无血清培养组加入含Neurobasal和B27的无血清培养基;阴性对照组加入含胎牛血清的DMEM。各组诱导12,24 h后,应用免疫细胞化学染色行神经元特异性烯醇化酶、微管相关蛋白2、胶质纤维酸性蛋白的鉴定,Western-blot法检测细胞神经元特异性烯醇化酶、微管相关蛋白2和胶质纤维酸性蛋白的表达。 结果与结论：诱导12,24 h后,条件培养基组、b-FGF组、无血清培养组骨髓间质充干细胞微管相关蛋白2、胶质纤维酸性蛋白、神经元特异性烯醇化酶均呈阳性表达,阴性对照组未见表达。与阴性对照组比较,诱导后24 h,条件培养基组、b-FGF组、无血清培养组微管相关蛋白2表达均明显增强(P < 0.05),且条件培养基组增强幅度显著高于另两组(P < 0.05);条件培养基组、b-FGF组、无血清培养组神经元特异性烯醇化酶及胶质纤维酸性蛋白表达无明显差异。结果证实海马神经元条件培养液可体外诱导大鼠骨髓间质干细胞分化为神经元样细胞和神经胶质样细胞,与含b-FGF的培养基和无血清培养基相比,海马神经元条件培养基诱导的神经元和神经胶质细胞阳性率最高。     

Nutritional antioxidants as antidegenerative agents

In this study, primary cultures of cerebellar granule neurons were prepared from eight-day-old Wistar rats, and maintained in an appropriate medium containing a high (25 mM) concentration of KCl. All experiments were performed with fully differentiated neurons (eight days). To induce apoptosis, culture medium was replaced with a serum-free medium (containing 5 mM KCl) eight days after plating. In another series of experiments, apoptosis was induced by application of glutamate (50 microM) to the cell cultures. Apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry, the TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-fluorescein nick end-labeling) method, and by the classical method of DNA fragmentation. Since there is evidence that an increased formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is involved in the apoptosis induced by both low K(+) concentrations and glutamate, a series of natural antioxidants and a red wine lyophilized extract (which is rich in antioxidant compounds) were tested in our experimental model. It was found that ascorbic acid (30 microM) and a red wine lyophilized extract (5 microgram/ml) were capable of blocking the apoptotic process. Addition of the following natural antioxidants did not have any protective effect on apoptosis induced by low K(+) concentrations: trans- and cis-resveratrol (5-200 microM), alpha-tocopherol (100-200 microM), reduced glutathione (100-400 microM), 3-hydroxytirosol (25-100 microM), epicatechin (25-100 microM), or quercetin (25-50 miroM). It is concluded that only a limited number of natural antioxidants are provided with antiapoptotic activity in cultured cerebellar granule neurons. This effect is probably exerted by reducing ROS formation, and by blocking caspase-3 activity.     

Differentiation of axon-related Schwann cells in vitro: II. Control of myelin formation by basal lamina

Several recent observations suggest that Schwann cell (SC) differentiation, including myelin formation, is dependent upon the development of basal lamina which characteristically surrounds each axon-SC unit in peripheral nerve. This dependence can be tested in a neuron-SC culture system developed in our laboratory in which SC differentiation, including basal lamina formation and myelination, is faithfully reproduced. The use of serum-free, defined medium (DM) with this culture system allows axon-driven SC proliferation but not basal lamina formation or myelination. We previously demonstrated that ascorbic acid, in the presence of a nondialyzable serum factor(s), stimulates basal lamina assembly and myelin formation with similar dose-response relationships (Eldridge et al., 1987). We hypothesized that ascorbic acid acts to promote SC myelination indirectly, by enabling the assembly of basal lamina. We now provide support for this hypothesis by demonstrating the following. (1) Pepsin-resistant triple-helical collagen molecules were produced only by SCs grown in the presence of ascorbic acid, suggesting that triple-helical type IV collagen may mediate the effect of ascorbic acid on basal lamina formation. (2) The formation of myelin by oligodendrocytes, which myelinate axons in the CNS without the concomitant deposition of basal lamina, was little affected by ascorbic acid, suggesting that the biosynthesis and assembly of myelin per se does not require ascorbic acid. (3) The provision of exogenous basal lamina matrix to SCs grown with neurons in DM without ascorbic acid promoted control levels of myelination (and basal lamina formation); the provision of exogenous fibrillar collagen matrix did not. (4) Purified laminin promoted control levels of myelination in the absence of ascorbic acid, but purified type IV collagen and heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) did not. Laminin caused SCs to assemble basal lamina-like structures that contained not only laminin but also HSPG and non-triple-helical type IV collagen. Thus, several types of experiments demonstrate that SC myelin formation can be controlled by regulating the ability of the SC to assemble basal lamina, illustrating that acquisition of basal lamina is a crucial prefatory step for further SC differentiation.     

Antioxidants are required during the early critical period, but not later, for neuronal survival

Methods for growing primary neuronal cultures rely on the inclusion of antioxidants in the culture medium, but no studies have determined precisely if or when antioxidants are required for neuronal survival, despite the significance this information would have for understanding neurodevelopment and studying oxidative stress. We show that cortical neurons grown in Neurobasal media with B27 supplement required antioxidants for only the first 24 hr post-explantation, after which the antioxidants could be removed permanently without noticeable loss of neuronal survival over the normal lifespan. Cortical cultures never exposed to antioxidants did not survive. These findings represent a novel method for substantially antioxidant-free neuronal culture, whereby antioxidants can be removed permanently from the cultures after only 1 day. This method may prove critical for studies of oxidative stress, because B27 antioxidants significantly diminished pro-oxidative effects of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate and hydrogen peroxide on cortical cultures, even if antioxidants were removed before the oxidizing treatment. Together, these findings suggest a brief window of high vulnerability to reactive oxygen species, and have important implications for studies of oxidative stress and developmental neuroscience.     

Neural stem cells: isolation and differentiation into cholinergic neurons

This investigation aimed to isolate neural stem cells from neonatal hippocampus and induce them to differentiate into cholinergic neurons. The isolated neural stem cells were incubated in serum-free Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium/F12 medium added with 20 ng/ml basic fibroblast growth factor and B27. The cell line isolated from the hippocampal formation of neonatal rats expressed nestin and had the potency to form clones and differentiate into neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Embryonic chick skeletal muscle extract was used to induce the differentiation of the neural stem cells into cholinergic neurons. Immunocytochemistry was used to detect the choline acetyltransferase antigen of cholinergic neurons for confirmation. The results showed that embryonic chick skeletal muscle extract could induce isolated neural stem cell to differentiate into a significantly larger number of cholinergic neurons than controls.     

Myelination by Schwann cells in the absence of extracellular matrix assembly

Assembly of extracellular collagen fibrils and Schwann cell basal lamina has previously been identified as a prerequisite for compact myelin formation in the peripheral nervous system. Synthesis of this extracellular matrix (ECM) in vitro required the presence of serum and ascorbic acid. Using rat embryonic dorsal root ganglion neurons and Schwann cells, we have developed a fully defined medium in which myelination occurs. In the absence of ascorbic acid, normal myelin was formed without ECM assembly. This demonstrates that although myelination and ECM assembly are usually closely linked, ECM formation is not a prerequisite for myelination in vitro. GLIA 23:383–388, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Silencing of the Charcot-Marie-Tooth associated MTMR2 gene decreases proliferation and enhances cell death in primary cultures of Schwann cells

Loss of function of the myotubularin (MTM)-related protein 2 (MTMR2) in Schwann cells causes Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 4B1, a severe demyelinating neuropathy, but the consequences of MTMR2 disruption in Schwann cells are unknown. We established the expression profile of MTMR2 by real-time RT-PCR during rat myelination and showed it to be preferentially expressed at the onset of the myelination period. We developed a model in which MTMR2 loss of function was reproduced in primary cultures of Schwann cells by RNA interference. We found that depletion of MTMR2 in Schwann cells decreased their rate of proliferation. Furthermore, when cultivated in serum-free medium, MTMR2 depletion increased the number of Schwann cells that died by a caspase-dependent process. These results support the hypothesis that loss of MTMR2 in patients, by decreasing Schwann cells proliferation and survival, may impair the first stages of myelination of the peripheral nervous system.     

Lead exposures increases oxidative stress in serum deprived E14 mesencephalic cultures. Role of metallothionein and glutathione

E14 mesencephalic cultures grown 6 days in Neurobasal Medium containing 10% horse serum consist of differentiated neurons and astroglia. In these cultures, glutathione and metallothionein-I/II are enriched in astrocytes and play an important role in heavy metal scavenging and oxidative stress response. A 24 h exposure to 25 micro M Pb, in serum-containing medium, elevated the glutathione content by more than twofold and increased the metallothionein I/II-immunolabeled protein band. In contrast, exposure to 3 to 25 micro M Pb is serum-free medium increased Pb uptake by cells 2 to 4-times above the levels found in 10% serum-containing medium, reduced the glutathione level and obliterated the metallothionein-I/II protein band. The rapid decrease of metallothionein-I/II and glutathione levels in serum-free medium implies that their regulation may depend on a serum factor operative in inducing immediate early genes. Exposure to 6 micro M Pb in serum-free or in B27-supplemented medium increased the carbonyl content of several protein bands above control levels indicating that under conditions that curtail metallothionein induction Pb exposure causes increased oxidative stress.     

Synergistic inhibition of lipid peroxidation by vitamin E and a dopamine agonist, cabergoline

We examined antioxidant activity of cabergoline, a dopamine agonist, during the aerobic oxidation of phosphatidylcholine liposomes at 37 degrees C. Cabergoline retarded the oxidation initiated with a lipid-soluble initiator significantly better than that with a water-soluble initiator, suggesting that cabergoline locates in the lipid layer of liposomal membranes. Cabergoline inhibited the oxidation of liposomal membranes synergistically with endogenous antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, ubiquinol-10 and vitamin E, and vitamin E was the most efficient synergist. These results suggest that cabergoline may have a neuroprotective effect on the substantia nigra of Parkinsonian patients because of its synergistic antioxidant activity with vitamin E as well as its action on dopamine receptor.     

Triiodothyronine stimulation of oligodendroglial differentiation and myelination. A developmental study

The biochemical development of rotation-mediated aggregating brain cell cultures was studied in a serum-free chemically defined medium in the presence (complete medium) or the absence of triiodothyronine (T3). The expression of 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNP) and myelin basic protein (MBP), two myelin components, was temporally dissociated in brain cell aggregating cultures grown in a complete medium. CNP increased from day 8 and reached a plateau around day 25. MBP accumulated rapidly from the third until the fourth week in culture. The total protein content increased gradually until day 25. The activity of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) used as an index of cell growth and differentiation, showed two well-defined peaks of activity. The first peak reached a maximum at day 6 and correlated with both the highest DNA content and the peak of [3H]-thymidine incorporation. The second peak of ODC activity (from day 19 to 35) coincided with the differentiation of oligodendrocytes. These results confirm that aggregating fetal rat brain cells cultured in a serum-free chemically defined medium undergo extensive differentiation. Addition of T3 to the culture medium doubled the CNP activity by day 16. In contrast, MBP was only slightly increased by day 16, reaching at 25 and 35 days 8 to 10-fold higher values than the untreated cultures. When T3 was removed between day 16 and 25, CNP decreased almost to control values and MBP failed to accumulate. Moreover, when T3 was reintroduced into the medium (between day 25 and 35), CNP activity was restored and MBP content was partially corrected. T3 treatment produced a concentration-dependent increase in ODC activity which was observed only around day 19. The first peak of ODC activity observed at culture day 6 was independent of the presence of T3. These results obtained in brain cell cultures emphasize the direct effect of T3 on myelination.     

抗氧化剂在分离培养成年大鼠海马神经祖细胞中的作用

目的探讨抗氧化剂在分离培养成年大鼠海马NG2蛋白聚糖阳性神经祖细胞(NG2细胞)中的重要作用。方法根据文献从成年大鼠海马分离培养NG2细胞的方法,以B27-AO添加剂(去除B27添加剂中所有抗氧化剂的衍生物)替代原培养液中的B27添加剂,并将四种抗氧化剂单独或组合加入B27-AO培养环境,行海马细胞原代及传代培养。以乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)分析法测定细胞活性;以免疫荧光双重染色法鉴定细胞性质。结果B27-AO添加剂未能分离或传代大部分NG2细胞,而过氧化氢酶(Catalase)能挽救大部分在B27-AO培养条件下死亡的细胞。结论抗氧化剂在NG2细胞分离培养过程中是必不可少的。     

Murine spinal cord explants: a model for evaluating axonal growth and myelination in vitro

In vitro models of myelinating central nervous system axons have mainly been of two types, organotypic or dissociated. In organotypic cultures, the tissue fragment is thick and usually requires sectioning (physically or optically) before visual examination. In dissociated cultures, tissue is dispersed across the culture surface, making it difficult to measure the extent of myelinated fiber growth. We aimed to develop a method of culturing myelinated CNS fibers in defined medium that could be 1) studied by standard immunofluorescence microscopy (i.e., monolayer type culture), 2) used to measure axonal growth, and 3) used to evaluate the effect of substrate and media components on axonal growth and myelination. We used 120-micro m slices of embryonic murine spinal cord as a focal source of CNS tissue from which myelinated axons could extend in a virtual monolayer. Explants were cultured on both poly-L-lysine and astrocytes. The latter were used because they are the scaffold on which axonal growth and myelination occurs during normal development. Outgrowth from the explant and myelination of axons was poor on poly-L-lysine but was promoted by an astrocyte bed layer. The best myelin formation occurred in defined media based on DMEM using N2 mix; it was not promoted by Sato mix or Neurobasal medium with B27 supplement. Neuronal survival was poor in serum-containing medium. This tissue culture model should facilitate the study of factors involved in promoting outgrowth of CNS axons and their myelination. As such it is relevant to studies on myelination and spinal cord repair.     

An improved method for the expression of TRH in serum-supplemented primary cultures of fetal hypothalamic cells

Primary cultures of dispersed cells from fetal nervous tissue are extensively used for studying multiple neuronal properties. Analyses of the developmental expression of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH; pglu-his-pro-NH(2)) biosynthesis in primary cultures of fetal dissociated hypothalamic cells have shown that cellular TRH levels per dish increase with time in culture, after a lag period of a few days, but do not attain the values observed in vivo, hampering its use as a model system for the study of peptide biosynthesis and release. We have demonstrated that homologous conditioned medium (CM) enhances TRH expression in dissociated cell cultures from fetal mice hypothalamus, maintained in presence of serum. We report here experimental conditions that allow the expression, during the second or third week in vitro, of higher cellular TRH levels than previously described in primary cultures of dissociated hypothalamic cells from 17-day rat fetuses. The medium used was Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) supplemented with fetal bovine serum (10%), vitamins, glucose, glutamine and insulin (DMEM-S). Cellular levels of TRH/mg protein increased with cell density between 1 and 2.7x10(6) cells per 35-mm dish. Addition of 10(-5) M cytosine arabinoside (CAr) at the 4th day in vitro (DIV) improved TRH cell content per dish compared to addition at 5 DIV; 2.5-5x10(-5) M bromodeoxyuridine added at seeding reduced cell survival and did not enhance TRH levels, in comparison to CAr-treated cultures. Addition of ascorbic acid (0.5-1x10(-4) M) increased TRH levels per dish. Substitution of DMEM by DMEM-F12 (1:1) did not improve TRH levels. Cellular levels of TRH, in Neurobasal plus B27 (a serum-free medium), were similar to levels in serum-supplemented media. In the optimized conditions, a small number of pro-TRH mRNA expressing cells (2% of total cells) was detected by in situ hybridization; 40% coexpressed the pro-protein convertase PC1 mRNA. Conditioning the medium, controlling glial proliferation, and adding ascorbic acid improved the expression of TRH in primary culture of hypothalamic cells in DMEM-S.     

Desferrioxamine and vitamin E protect against iron and MPTP-induced neurodegeneration in mice

Summary To elucidate the neuroprotective effects of the iron chelator desferrioxamine (DFO) and the antioxidant vitamin E on excessive iron-induced free radical damage, a chronic iron-loaded mice model was established. The relationship between striatal iron content, oxidized to reduced glutathione ratio, hydroxyl radical (.OH) levels and dopamine concentrations were observed in DFO or vitamin E pretreated iron-loaded/1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-treated C57BL/6 mice. The results demonstrated that both DFO and vitamin E inhibit the iron accumulation and thus reverses the increase in oxidized glutathione (GSSG), oxidized to reduced glutathione ratios, .OH and lipid peroxidation levels. The striatal dopamine concentration was elevated to normal value. Our data suggested that: (1) iron may induce neuronal damage and thus excessive iron in the brain may contribute to the neuronal loss in PD; (2) iron chelators and antioxidants may serve as potential therapeutic agents in retarding the progression of neurodegeneration.     

Vitamin E induces ramification and downregulation of adhesion molecules in cultured microglial cells

Microglial cells in the healthy adult CNS possess a characteristic ramified morphology and show little or no expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) or adhesion molecules. In contrast, microglial cells isolated from newborn rat brains inevitably show a nonramified amoeboid morphology and express immunoeffector molecules, such as MHC class I and II, and various adhesion molecules thought to be markers of microglial activation. Furthermore, they produce large amounts of oxygen radicals. Treatment of cultured microglial cells with the antioxidants vitamin E (α-tocopherol) and vitamin C (ascorbic acid) induced a ramified microglial morphology after 48 h in vitro, otherwise only seen in healthy adult CNS tissue or in co-culture with astrocytes. Morphological transformation of microglial cells was quantified by morphometric analysis and was found to be statistically significant. Ramification of microglia induced by vitamin E was accompanied by downregulated expression of adhesion molecules leukocyte function antigen-1, very late antigen-4, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1, as assessed by FACS analysis and immunocytochemistry. Moreover, cell numbers of microglia treated with vitamin E remained stable within 7 days in vitro, whereas untreated controls showed a cell loss of 81.5%. These data show that vitamin E acts as a protective compound in dissociated microglial cell cultures. In conclusion, our results suggest that vitamin E and vitamin C shift microglial morphology toward ramification and induce an immunological deactivation. These changes seem to be mediated by oxidative mechanisms. GLIA 22:180–188, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Rapid method for culturing embryonic neuron-glial cell cocultures

A streamlined, simple technique for primary cell culture from E17 rat tissue is presented. In an attempt to standardize culturing methods for all neuronal cell types in the embryo, we evaluated a commercial medium without serum and used similar times for trypsinization and tested different surfaces for plating. In 1 day, using one method and a single medium, it is possible to produce robust E17 cultures of dorsal root ganglia (DRG), cerebellum, and enteric plexi. Allowing the endogenous glial cells to repopulate the cultures saves time compared with existing techniques, in which glial cells are added to cultures first treated with antimitotic agents. It also ensures that all the cells present in vivo will be present in the culture. Myelination commences after approximately 2 weeks in culture for dissociated DRG and 3-4 weeks in cerebellar cultures. In enteric cultures, glial wrapping of the enteric neurons is seen after 3 weeks (2 weeks in ascorbic acid), suggesting that basal lamina production is important even for glial ensheathment in the enteric nervous system. No overgrowth of fibroblasts or other nonneuronal cells was noted in any cultures, and myelination of the peripheral nervous system and central nervous system cultures was very robust.