QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (43) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lavdas, A. A. Articles by Parnavelas, J. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lavdas, A. A. Articles by Parnavelas, J. G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Volume 17, Number 20, Issue of October 15, 1997 pp. 7872-7880
Copyright ©1997 Society for Neuroscience

Serotonin Promotes the Differentiation of Glutamate Neurons in Organotypic Slice Cultures of the Developing Cerebral Cortex

Received June 25, 1997; revised August 4, 1997; accepted August 5, 1997.

Alexandros A. Lavdas¹, Mary E. Blue², Jill Lincoln¹, and John G. Parnavelas¹

¹ Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom, and ² Kennedy Krieger Research Institute and Department of Neurology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205

The monoamines serotonin (5-HT), noradrenaline (NA), and dopamine (DA), which are present in the developing brain apparently before they assume their neurotransmitter functions, are regarded as strong candidates for a role in the maturation of the cerebral cortex. Here we sought to investigate their effects on the generation and differentiation of cortical cell types. Slice cultures, prepared from the cortices of embryonic day (E) 14, E16, and E19 rat fetuses, were kept in defined medium or in defined medium plus 5-HT for 7 d. E16 cortices were also exposed to NA or DA for the same period. At the end of this period, the proportions of the neuronal [glutamate (Glu)-, GABA-, calbindin-, calretinin-labeled], glial (GFAP), and neuroepithelial (nestin) cell types were estimated for all conditions. We found that in E16 cultures, application of 5-HT, but not of NA or DA, significantly increased the proportion of Glu-containing neurons without affecting the overall neuronal population or the proportions of any other cell types. A similar effect was observed in co-cultures of E16 cortex with slices through the midbrain raphe nuclei of E19 rats. The total amount of cortical Glu, as measured with HPLC, was also increased in these co-cultures. To investigate whether the effect of 5-HT was the result of changes in cell proliferation, we exposed slices to bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and found that the proportion of BrdU-labeled cells was similar in the 5-HT-treated and control slices. These results indicate that 5-HT promotes the differentiation of cortical Glu-containing neurons without affecting neuroepithelial cell proliferation.

Key words: neocortex; development; monoamines; 5-HT; neurons; glutamate; BrdU; slice cultures

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. Stankovski, C. Alvarez, T. Ouimet, T. Vitalis, K. H. El-Hachimi, D. Price, E. Deneris, P. Gaspar, and O. Cases Developmental Cell Death Is Enhanced in the Cerebral Cortex of Mice Lacking the Brain Vesicular Monoamine Transporter J. Neurosci., February 7, 2007; 27(6): 1315 - 1324. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J.-A. Kim, R. Koyama, R. X. Yamada, M. K. Yamada, N. Nishiyama, N. Matsuki, and Y. Ikegaya Environmental Control of the Survival and Differentiation of Dentate Granule Neurons Cereb Cortex, December 1, 2004; 14(12): 1358 - 1364. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Dehay, P. Savatier, V. Cortay, and H. Kennedy Cell-Cycle Kinetics of Neocortical Precursors Are Influenced by Embryonic Thalamic Axons J. Neurosci., January 1, 2001; 21(1): 201 - 214. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. N. Behar, A. E. Schaffner, C. A. Scott, C. L. Greene, and J. L. Barker GABA Receptor Antagonists Modulate Postmitotic Cell Migration in Slice Cultures of Embryonic Rat Cortex Cereb Cortex, September 1, 2000; 10(9): 899 - 909. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Fiorica-Howells, L. Maroteaux, and M. D. Gershon Serotonin and the 5-HT2B Receptor in the Development of Enteric Neurons J. Neurosci., January 1, 2000; 20(1): 294 - 305. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. F. McManus, L.-C. Chen, I. Vallejo, and M. Vallejo Astroglial Differentiation of Cortical Precursor Cells Triggered by Activation of the cAMP-Dependent Signaling Pathway J. Neurosci., October 15, 1999; 19(20): 9004 - 9015. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. M. Hurley and G. D. Pollak Serotonin Differentially Modulates Responses to Tones and Frequency-Modulated Sweeps in the Inferior Colliculus J. Neurosci., September 15, 1999; 19(18): 8071 - 8082. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				O. Cases, C. Lebrand, B. Giros, T. Vitalis, E. De Maeyer, M. G. Caron, D. J. Price, P. Gaspar, and I. Seif Plasma Membrane Transporters of Serotonin, Dopamine, and Norepinephrine Mediate Serotonin Accumulation in Atypical Locations in the Developing Brain of Monoamine Oxidase A Knock-Outs J. Neurosci., September 1, 1998; 18(17): 6914 - 6927. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help