Development of intracerebral dopaminergic grafts: a combined immunohistochemical and autoradiographic study of its time course and environmental influences.

N. Abrous, J. Guy, A. Vigny, A. Calas, M. Le Moal, J. P. Herman
J. Comp. Neurol.. 1988-07-01; 273(1): 26-41
DOI: 10.1002/cne.902730104

PubMed
Read on PubMed



1. J Comp Neurol. 1988 Jul 1;273(1):26-41.

Development of intracerebral dopaminergic grafts: a combined immunohistochemical
and autoradiographic study of its time course and environmental influences.

Abrous N(1), Guy J, Vigny A, Calas A, Le Moal M, Herman JP.

Author information:
(1)INSERM U-259, Université de Bordeaux II, France.

The aim of the study was to obtain a description of some aspects of the
development of intracerebral dopaminergic grafts, namely, the time course of the
glial reaction and its relation to cell division on one hand, and the development
of graft-originated innervation and its dependence on adequate matching of the
implanted neurons and target site on the other hand. Cell suspensions obtained
from the mesencephalon or hypothalamus of embryonic day (ED) 14 rat embryos were
implanted into the striatum or lateral hypothalamus of adult rats following the
destruction of the nigrostriatal system of the hosts. Animals were sacrificed at
different postimplantation times, and the development of the graft was followed
by immunohistochemistry by using antisera directed against tyrosine hydroxylase
(TH) or glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFA). Furthermore, the existence of cell
division at various times following implantation was examined by performing
autoradiography on immunostained sections after prior intraventricular
administration of 3H-thymidine to the host. The first stage of the development of
intracerebral grafts was characterized by the existence of intense cell division
within the grafted tissue, lasting about 2 weeks, and also in the host tissue
surrounding the graft, lasting only about 6 days. The cell division in the host
tissue was paralleled by the existence of a strong glial reaction which, however,
did not extend into the graft itself. Glial reaction in the host tissue gradually
decreased at later times and disappeared by 4 weeks postimplantation without
leaving behind a noticeable glial scar. The graft itself was, however,
transiently filled with a population of reactive astroglial cells between 3 and 6
weeks postimplantation. Within grafts of mesencephalic tissue located in the
striatum TH-positive neurons were distributed evenly at short times
postimplantation (2-6 days). At later time a compartmentation could be observed,
with TH-positive neurons being aligned along the graft-host interface or
clustered within the graft itself. Innervation of the host tissue by TH-positive
fibers increased between 1 and 6 weeks postimplantation. On the other hand, no
compartmentation and reinnervation of surrounding host tissue was observed for
intrahypothalamic grafts of mesencephalic tissue or intrastriatal grafts of
hypothalamic tissue. This last observation indicates that adequate matching of
implanted neurons and target tissue plays an important role in the development of
intracerebral dopaminergic grafts.

DOI: 10.1002/cne.902730104
PMID: 3145292 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Know more about