Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2014, Vol. 9 ›› Issue (2): 119-128.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.125339

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Effect of type-2 astrocytes on the viability of dorsal root ganglion neurons and length of neuronal processes

Chunling Fan1, Hui Wang1, Dan Chen1, Xiaoxin Cheng2, Kun Xiong1, Xuegang Luo1, Qilin Cao2   

  1. 1 Department of Human Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
    2 The Vivian L Smith Department of Neurosurgery, UT Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
  • Received:2013-11-22 Online:2014-01-10 Published:2014-01-10
  • Contact: Xuegang Luo, Department of Human Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China, xgluo@xysm.net. Qilin Cao, The Vivian L Smith Department of Neurosurgery, UT Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA, qi-lin.cao@uth.tmc.edu.
  • Supported by:

    This study was supported by the NIH Foundation of the USA, No. R01 NS061975, and the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province in China, No. 11JJ6077.

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Abstract:

The role of type-2 astrocytes in the repair of central nervous system injury remains poorly understood. In this study, using a relatively simple culture condition in vitro, type-2 astrocytes, differentiated from oligodendrocyte precursor cells by induction with bone morphogenetic protein-4, were co-cultured with dorsal root ganglion neurons. We examined the effects of type-2 astrocytes differentiated from oligodendrocyte precursor cells on the survival and growth of dorsal root ganglion neurons. Results demonstrated that the number of dorsal root ganglion neurons was higher following co-culture of oligodendrocyte precursor cells and type-2 astrocytes than when cultured alone, but lower than that of neurons co-cultured with type-1 astrocytes. The length of the longest process and the length of all processes of a single neuron were shortest in neurons cultured alone, followed by neurons co-cultured with type-2 astrocytes, then neurons co-cultured with oligodendrocyte precursor cells, and longest in neurons co-cultured with type-1 astrocytes. These results indicate that co-culture with type-2 astrocytes can increase neuronal survival rate and process length. However, compared with type-1 astrocytes and oligodendrocyte precursor cells, the promotion effects of type-2 astrocytes on the growth of dorsal root ganglion neurons were weaker.

Key words: nerve regeneration, spinal cord injury, oligodendrocyte, oligodendrocyte precursor cells, astrocytes, bone morphogenetic protein, neurons, neurites, dorsal root ganglion, NIH grant, neural regeneration