Cerebellar culture models of dendritic spine proliferation after transplantation of glia

Journal of Neural Transplantation & Plasticity
F J Seil

Abstract

Studies of Purkinje cell dendritic spine proliferation after transplantation of cytosine arabinoside (Ara C) treated organotypic cerebellar cultures with glia and granule cells, either separately and in combination, were reviewed. Exposure of cerebellar explants to Ara C for the first 5 days in vitro results in the destruction of granule cells, the only excitatory cortical neurons, and oligodendroglia, and functionally compromises surviving astrocytes so that they do not appose neuronal membranes. In the absence of granule cells, there is a sprouting of Purkinje cell recurrent axon collaterals, the terminals of which project to and form heterotypical synapses with Purkinje cell dendritic spines, which are usually occupied by terminals of granule cell axons (parallel fibers). After this reorganization has been achieved, the explants can be transplanted with the missing elements to induce a second round of reorganization, with approximate restoration of the usual interneuronal relationships. Addition of both granule cells and glia resulted in a proliferation of clusters of Purkinje cell dendritic spines, which formed synapses with axon terminals of transplanted granule cells, and as synapse formation progressed, the spine cluster...Continue Reading

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