Embryonic cortical neurons differentiate into various types of interneurons when heterotopically transplanted into the adult rat brain

The adult cortex represents a heterogeneous mixture of different classes of pyramidal neurons and non-pyramidal interneurons. After grafting embryonic cortical anlage into the adult striatum, the present study investigated whether the development of different populations of interneurons in heterotopic cortical grafts is similar to the adult cortex. The presence of specific subpopulations of interneurons in grafts was assessed by immunocytochemistry using various antibodies against marker molecules for interneurons such as neuropeptides and calcium-binding proteins. These molecules are expressed to a different extent in specific subpopulations of cortical interneurons. Cortical primordia obtained on embryonic day 14 (1314) were stereotactically grafted into the center of the left striatum of adult recipient rats. After an 8-week differentiation period, host rats were perfusion fixed and immunocytochemistry was performed using antibodies against neuropeptide Y (NPY), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), somatostatin, parvalbumin and calbindin D-28k. Within the grafts, the number of immunopositive interneurons as well as the intensity of immunostaining for different marker molecules corresponded well with those of the adult cortex. In contrast, the expression pattern in the graft demonstrated clear differences when compared with the surrounding host striatum. The present study demonstrates, that at E14 at least some cells of the cortical anlage are primed to develop into different classes of interneurons independent of their normal environment and their regular synaptic connections. Thus, different interneuron progenitor cells survive transplantation and develop cell-specific morphological and cytochemical characteristics. Differentiation into various subpopulations of neurons may be a prerequisite for potential therapeutic approaches in humans.     

Indoleamine and catecholamine concentrations in the mid-term human fetal brain

Because of the likelihood that androgen-induced sex specific brain differentiation is mediated by various neurotransmitters, their concentrations were measured in the mid-term human fetal hypothalamus, cortex and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Tissue was collected from 32 hysterotomy specimens aged from 10 to 23 weeks, immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen, and stored at -20 degrees C. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), 5-hydroxy indole acetic acid (5-HIAA), norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) levels were measured by a fluorometric assay. Cord serum testosterone levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. In the male fetuses, hypothalamic concentrations of 5-HT, 5-HIAA and NE were all significantly increased in comparison to those in the cortex. Because the number of female fetuses was small, only the 5-HIAA levels were seen to be significantly higher in the hypothalamus than in the cortex. In the CSF from fetuses of both sexes, the DA levels were greatly raised. Concentrations of NE were significantly higher in male fetuses aged from 14-16 weeks, a time when plasma testosterone levels are also elevated. It is hypothesized that the raised plasma testosterone and hypothalamic NE concentrations are inter-related.     

人神经干细胞移植到缺氧缺血性脑损伤新生大鼠脑内的存活及分布★

目的：新生儿缺氧缺血性脑病是导致脑性瘫痪的重要原因，至今缺乏有效疗法。将体外培养的人神经干细胞经脑室移植入缺氧缺血性脑损伤新生鼠，观察植入细胞在宿主脑内的存活、迁移及分化。 方法：实验于2005-01/09在解放军海军总医院儿科实验室完成。①对象：神经干细胞来源于孕12周流产的人胎儿脑组织，孕妇签署知情同意书，符合医院伦理委员会规定。清洁级SD新生鼠80只，随机数字表法分为细胞移植组、模型对照组，40只/组，实验过程中对动物的处置符合动物伦理学标准。②实验方法：取人胚胎脑组织，机械分散法分离单个核细胞，接种于添加表皮生长因子、碱性成纤维细胞生长因子、白血病抑制因子的N2培养基中，获取生长旺盛的人神经干细胞球，制成单细胞悬液，浓度约为5.0×1011 L-1，培养6 d后行PKH标记用于植入后示踪。两组新生鼠均建立缺氧缺血性脑损伤模型，造模后3 d，细胞移植组损伤侧脑室缓慢注入5 μL人神经干细胞悬液，模型对照组于相同部位注入等量生理盐水。③实验评估：取未经PKH标记的细胞球， 通过免疫细胞化学染色鉴定巢蛋白的表达及其向神经元、星形胶质细胞的分化情况。分别于细胞移植后1，2，4周及3个月，常规取脑组织，行免疫组织化学和荧光分析，观察植入后细胞存活及分布情况。 结果：在造模及细胞移植过程中，因麻醉、出血细胞移植组新生鼠死亡5只，模型对照组死亡7只，存活率85%~90%。①神经干细胞的鉴定及分化：80％活细胞巢蛋白呈阳性表达，并可分化为神经元、星形胶质细胞。②神经干细胞植入后存活及分布情况：植入后1周，神经丝蛋白阳性细胞多位于损伤侧皮质及海马处，纹状体、脑干、小脑、嗅球也有少量分布。植入后2周，海马和皮质可见神经丝蛋白阳性细胞，胞体伸出的神经微丝更长，细胞数量与1周时基本相似。植入后4周及3个月时PKH阳性细胞数量明显减少。 结论：在含有表皮生长因子、碱性成纤维细胞生长因子、白血病抑制因子的N2培养基中形成的人神经干细胞球，具有良好的增殖能力，可分化为神经元，移植至缺血缺氧新生鼠脑中能够向损伤区迁移，分布范围广。     

Intrinsic control of electroresponsive properties of transplanted mammalian brain neurons

The present study presents the first analysis of neurons in mammalian brain transplants based on intracellular recording. The results, obtained in brain slices including both donor and host tissue, showed that neuronal precursor cells in embryonic transplantsretained their ability to complete their normal differentiation of cell-type-specific electroresponsive properties. Distortions in cell aggregation and synaptic connectivity did not affect this aspect of neuronal differentiation.     

Neurochemical anatomy of fetal hippocampus transplanted into large lesion cavities made in the adult rat brain.

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether neurochemicals normally found within neuron somata, fibers, and terminals of the hippocampal formation would also be present in transplanted hippocampal tissue that had developed in lesion cavities made in adult rat brains by aspiration of the hippocampus and overlying dorsolateral neocortex. Embryonic Day 15 or 16 rat brian tissue containing hippocampus with some medial pallial anlage was transplanted into the site of hippocampal aspiration lesions in adult male rats. One hundred ten to one hundred thirty-five days later the brains of these rats were sectioned and processed using the avidin-biotin-horseradish peroxidase immunocytochemical procedure to visualize choline acetyltransferase, met-enkephalin (MENK), neurotensin (NT), somatostatin, substance P, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), or vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. Sections from two brains were stained using the thiocholine technique for visualization of acetylcholinesterase. All of these substances were found within cell bodies and/or fibers in the transplants. However, several abnormalities were noted. In addition to TH-immunoreactive fibers, TH-immunoreactive cell bodies were found in the transplants. Since TH is not expressed in mature hippocampal or cortical neurons this suggests that mechanisms for suppression of manufacture of this enzyme are lacking or inhibited in the transplants. Further, although all of the peptides were present either in fibers or in both cell bodies and fibers, the density of staining for NT and MENK was less than would be expected for normal hippocampus, and none of the cell bodies or fibers reacting for the peptides exhibited any apparent organization resembling that normally observed in hippocampus or cortex. However, some histological organization was present and the cholinergic markers were associated with this organization. These data suggest that some tropic and/or trophic factor such as nerve growth factor is present in the transplants to guide cholinergic innervation.     

Survival and functional recovery of transplanted human dopaminergic neurons into hemiparkinsonian rats depend on the cannula size of the implantation instrument

Promising therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease include replacement of lost striatal dopaminergic neurons by grafting of embryonic mesencephalic cells. However, the poor survival of the transplanted tissue still limits transplantation of these cells into the human brain in a larger number of patients. We addressed the question, if the diameter of the transplantation cannulas has an effect on the number of surviving transplanted human embryonic mesencephalic cells into the striatum of 6-OHDA lesioned rats. We report a significantly higher number of surviving human cells using an ultrathin micropipette compared to cannulas with wider diameters. Importantly, higher numbers of surviving cells also correlated with a behavioral recovery of the hemiparkinsonian rats.     

Intrinsic 5HT-immunoreactive neurons in the spinal cord of the fetal non-human primate

Serotonin (5HT) immunoreactive neurons were identified in the late-term fetal spinal cord of normal non-human primates. These neurons were distributed throughout the spinal cord, being concentrated in lamina X and the subjacent ventral median fissure, while their immunoreactive fibers and terminals innervated the zone surrounding the central canal and the ventral spinal artery. Even at this late fetal stage, the dorsal and ventral spinal gray matter was virtually devoid of any positive 5HT immunoreactivity, in contrast to that seen in the adult primate. These findings suggest that the intrinsic 5HT neurons of the primate during development may modulate CSF composition or provide cues for spinal cord differentiation rather than regulate sensorimotor functions as they do in the adult.     

A long term follow-up of fetal dopaminergic neurons transplantation into the brain of three parkinsonian patients

In three parkinsonian patients ages 48, 53, and 50, human fetal dopaminergic cells taken from the ventral part of mesencephalon of 11-12-week-old fetuses were implanted into the head of caudate nucleus. The operation was carried out with a specially designed device to enable safe and precise graft implantation. All patients had been suffering from severe Parkinson's disease for about 10-15 years (stage 4/5 according to Hoehn and Yahr scale) with bradykinesia, rigidity and tremor as the main symptoms. Long-lasting L-dopa therapy resulted in side effects with ON/OFF syndrome and dyskinesias. A detailed clinical examination was performed before and every 3 months after the operation according to the CAPIT battery of standarized tests. The patients were under post-operational observation lasting 30, 20 and 12 months, respectively. Improvement was observed in all patients starting between 3 and 6 months after operation and is still sustained. Significant increases in movement speed for repeated pronation-supination, finger dexterity and foot lifting tests were found. The speed of walking also increased with decreased rigidity. The OFF phase during the day is of shorter duration and less severe; dyskinesias are markedly reduced. Our results indicate that fetal grafting seems to be a valuable experimental approach towards the treatment of selected parkinsonian patients.     

人胎脑神经干细胞在年幼大鼠脑内的成神经元分化★

目的：脑组织中不同部位的的神经元因功能不同具有特定的细胞形态，移植的神经干细胞能不能在相应部位分化成其相应的神经元还不明确。实验拟观察人胎脑神经干细胞植入年幼大鼠脑后的成神经元分化的作用，探讨神经干细胞替代治疗小儿脑病的可行性。 方法：实验于2007-04/07在海军总医院细胞实验室内完成。①实验材料：16周孕龄的人胎脑组织由海军医院妇产科提供，实验经孕妇及家属知情同意，并经医院伦理委员会批准。14只出生后10 d的同窝年幼SD大鼠，雌雄不分，由北京大学医学部实验动物中心提供，为二级清洁动物，实验过程中对动物处置符合动物伦理学标准。②实验方法：自孕16周的人胎脑组织分离培养神经干细胞球，在脑脊液中培养诱导分化实验以证明其分化潜能。将培养14 d的神经干细胞球移植于10 d龄大鼠侧脑室内，于移植后第4，7，14天行人神经丝特异性标志的免疫荧光分析，显示神经元的分布和细胞形态。 结果：①培养获得典型神经干细胞球，呈漂浮生长，在小儿脑脊液中能分化为神经元、星形胶质细胞和少突胶质细胞。②采用抗人神经丝混合单抗检测移植物的成神经元分化，移植后第4天，观察到阳性反应细胞在颗粒层表现为颗粒性细胞，锥体细胞层则出现长突起的锥体细胞，还有连接神经元样中间神经元，小脑内有单层排列的浦肯野细胞。对比各时间点的观察结果，阳性细胞分布位置未变，随着移植后天数的后延，阳性细胞数量呈减少趋势，但锥体细胞的突起明显加长。 结论：体外培养获得的人神经干细胞经脑室途径移植于年幼大鼠，在脑内发生迁移，并分化成形态上与其所在位置的宿主细胞一致的神经元。提示宿主脑组织微环境在引导移植物分化成神经元中发挥了重要作用，该结果对细胞替代治疗小儿脑病有重要启示意义。     

Temporal pattern of survival and dendritic growth of fetal hippocampal cells transplanted into ischemic lesions of the adult rat hippocampus

Cell suspensions obtained from the fetal hippocampus were transplanted into the adult rat hippocampus at 1 or 4 weeks after transient forebrain ischemia. Only when the ischemia induced death of most of the CA1 pyramidal cells of the host hippocampus and transplantation was performed at 1 week after the ischemia, did a large number of transplanted cells survive and the most extensive dendritic growth was demonstrated by microtubule-associated protein 2 immunohistochemistry. The dendrites of the cells located in the ventral part were oriented ventrally, lining up similarly to the parallel arrangements of apical dendrites of normal CA1 pyramidal cells. These findings suggest that certain forms of trophic factors, which appear to occur in association with the presence of free terminals of afferent fibers during the earlier period after ischemic insult, are involved in the survival of and dendritic growth from transplanted hippocampal cells.     

Comparison of calcium-binding proteins expressed in cultured hNT neurons and hNT neurons transplanted into the rat striatum

An alternative source of cells for neural transplantation and brain repair that has many characteristics of immature neurons is the hNT neuron, derived from an embryonal human teratocarcinoma (NTera2) cell line that is terminally differentiated in vitro with retinoic acid. The majority of hNT neurons are GABAergic in cell culture. We have determined the calcium-binding protein (CBP) phenotypes of hNT neurons for three CBPs, calretinin (CR), calbindin D-28K (CB), and parvalbumin (PV), in cell culture and after transplantation into the rat striatum. In cell culture, 95% of all cell profiles were human nuclear matrix antigen (NuMA) positive. PV-positive hNT neurons constituted 50% of all neuron-like profiles, with CB+ and CR+ constituting 14 and 6% of cells, respectively. In contrast, when the striatal grafts were examined after 30 days survival using confocal microscopy, only 10% of hNT neurons immunopositive for NuMA were PV+; 19% were CB+/NuMA+, approximately the same percentage as was seen in vitro, and 82% of grafted hNT neurons were CR+. These results suggest that hNT neurons can be subdivided into at least three subpopulations based on the CBP phenotype that they express and that there is a CBP phenotypic shift following transplantation. Three related hypotheses are proposed to account for this phenotypic shift of hNT neurons after transplantation: (a) selective survival of the CR+ subpopulation of hNT neurons, (b) selective transitory quiescence of the transplanted PV+ cells due to transplantation stress, or (c) dedifferentiation of the hNT neurons following transplantation, which may allow them to respond to local environmental cues during the engraftment process.     

Development of peptide- and tyrosine hydroxylase-containing neurons in the fetal spinal cord transplanted into the anterior chamber of the eye of adult rats.

Fetal rat spinal cord transplanted into the anterior chamber of the eye of an adult rat was immunohistochemically stained using antisera to substance P (SP), neuropeptide Y (NPY), methionine-enkephalin (ENK), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), and distributional changes of peptide- and enzyme-containing neurons 1, 2 and 4 weeks after transplantation were investigated. To examine the effect of colchicine on immunoreactivity, unilateral eyes of these adult host rats received intraocular colchicine treatment. Without colchicine treatment, numerous SP- and CGRP-immunoreactive (IR) neurons were observed in the graft 1 week after transplantation, and their immunoreactivity gradually decreased up to 4 weeks after transplantation. NPY-, ENK-and VIP-IR neurons first appeared in the graft 2 weeks after transplantation. Four weeks after transplantation, the immunoreactivity of NPY and ENK decreased significantly, whereas VIP-IR neurons showed the same intensity as that observed at 2 weeks after transplantation. TH-IR neurons, on the other hand, were seen at every stage, but their immunoreactivity was constant all the time. After colchicine treatment, the number of SP-, NPY-, ENK- and CGRP-IR neurons appeared to increase, while that of VIP- and TH-IR neurons did not change significantly. The distribution patterns of the peptide- and enzyme-containing fibers differed from each other. In the analysis of serial sections stained with 5 peptides (SP, NPY, ENK, VIP, CGRP), fibers containing these peptides were found to be densely accumulated in specific areas of the transplanted spinal cord. The present findings demonstrated that most of the peptide- and enzyme-containing neuron systems in the transplanted spinal cord showed similar distribution patterns and development to those in the normal spinal cord, but that some displayed different distribution.     

Embryonic brain precursors transplanted into kainate lesioned rat spinal cord

Embryonic day 14 rat cerebral cortex-derived precursors were expanded with FGF2 and labeled with BrdU prior to being transplanted into the kainic acid-lesioned adult rat spinal cord. While these precursors give rise to cells with neuronal, astrocytic and oligodendroglial phenotypes vitro, they remained largely undifferentiated up to 12 weeks in vivo. Numerous BrdU-labeled cells were found in injured gray matter, and also lining the dilated central canal that sometimes accompanies these lesions. BrdU-labeled cells never co-expressed Map2ab, rarely co-expressed GFAP but often co-expressed nestin, even after 12 weeks in vivo. These observations suggest that the environment of the kainic acid-injured spinal cord is not hostile to transplanted embryonic cerebral cortex-derived precursors, but also is not conducive to their neuronal differentation.     

Astrocytes colonize dorsal root ganglia transplanted into rat brain.

Fragments of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) were grafted into rat brain and examined one month later. The autografts were similar to their normal counterparts when stained with toluidine blue or by indirect immunofluorescence with laminin and neurofilament antibodies. However, a major difference was observed with antibodies to the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Normal DRG were GFAP-negative while the autografts were intensely and diffusely stained. The GFAP antibodies used in this study did not decorate Schwann cells or satellite cells in peripheral nerve and DRG, and thus appeared to recognize the "central" form of GFAP (17). Thus reactive astrocytes appear to be capable of migration into grafted nervous tissues without producing apparent neuronal damage.     

Physiological and morphological characterization of striatal neurons transplanted into the striatum of adult rats

Physiological and morphological properties of transplanted striatal neurons (TSNs) were examined in an in vitro slice preparation. Fetal striatal tissue (E13-14) was implanted as a dissociated cellular suspension into the striatum of adult rats. Intracellular records were obtained from TSNs 2-6 weeks after transplantation. TSNs exhibited biophysical, morphological, and synaptic properties characteristic of normal striatal neurons, despite the disruption involved in processing of the fetal tissue. Differences were observed, however, between the TSNs and host striatal neurons. TSNs consistently had higher input resistance values than host striatal neurons as determined by neuronal responses to intracellular current injection. Stimulation of adjacent host striatum elicited both excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials in TSNs. By contrast, the same stimuli elicited only excitatory responses in host striatal neurons. Morphologically, TSNs resembled host medium-size spiny neurons as demonstrated by intracellular injection of lucifer yellow. However, the complexity of dendritic branching and the density of spines on the dendrites were less than that observed for host striatal neurons. It was concluded that during the posttransplantation period studied, TSNs possess neuronal properties expected of developmentally immature striatal neurons.     

Serotonin and nialamide differentially regulate survival and growth of cultured serotonin and catecholamine neurons.

In this morphometric analysis of immunoreactive serotonin (5-HT) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) neurons in culture, 5-HT and the MAO inhibitor nialamide influenced the survival, cell body size and neurite outgrowth of embryonic day 14 (E14) 5-HT neurons after treatment from 1-3 days in vitro (DIV), but did not significantly affect E14 or E15 TH neurons of either the noradrenergic or dopaminergic phenotype. These treatments had minimal effects on 5-HT neurons derived from E15 embryos. The stimulatory effects of 5-HT on survival and somal growth of E14 5-HT neurons was in contrast to its inhibitory effects on neurite outgrowth, suggesting trophic and inhibitory autoregulation of different cellular compartments of developing 5-HT neurons. The decreased sensitivity of E15 5-HT neurons to these treatments, despite similar viability and growth of these neurons in control cultures, suggests the existence of a critical period for this regulation during the initial period of serotonergic neurogenesis when these neurons are forming the bilateral B4-9 raphe complex. The lack of significant effects of 5-HT on TH neurons suggests differential sensitivities of 5-HT and TH neurons to developmental regulation by this neurotransmitter.