Crutcher, K. A. ,Neaderhauser, J., Schmidt, P., and Weingartner, J. (1991). Neurite outgrowth on postmortem human brain cryostat sections: studies of non-Alzheimer's and Alzheimer's tissue.
Experimental Neurology, 114(2):228-36.
Abstract
An in vitro assay to test for regional differences in neurite
growth-promoting and growth-inhibiting factors in tissue sections of
CNS tissue has been adapted to the use of postmortem human brain
tissue. Frozen sections of the temporal lobe from victims of
Alzheimer's disease were used as substrates for sympathetic neurite
outgrowth in tissue culture. Tissue sections from a non-Alzheimer's
brain were used as a control. Both explanted chick sympathetic
ganglia and dissociated chick sympathetic neurons were cultured for
3 to 5 days on tissue sections in the presence of exogenous nerve
growth factor. The dichotomy between gray and white matter portions
of the tissue sections in supporting neurite outgrowth that was
previously reported for fresh frozen human brain tissue was also
found to persist in postmortem tissue. In addition, the total
neurite outgrowth from explanted sympathetic ganglia was found to be
significantly less on postmortem sections when compared with
previous results obtained from fresh frozen tissue samples of
epileptic tissue. Dissociated neurons exhibited neurite outgrowth on
Alzheimer's sections that showed preferential growth on blood vessel
segments but no affinity for senile plaques. The results suggest
that there is some decline in the neurite growth-promoting ability
of cortical gray matter obtained from postmortem-derived brains when
compared with fresh tissue and that senile plaques do not represent
sites of neurite stimulation in this in vitro system.
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