RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Selective effects of skeletal muscle extract fractions on motoneuron development in vitro
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 439
OP 447
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.06-02-00439.1986
VO 6
IS 2
A1 RG Smith
A1 K Vaca
A1 J McManaman
A1 SH Appel
YR 1986
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/6/2/439.abstract
AB In vivo labeling of motoneurons with retrogradely transported wheat germ agglutinin, and in situ staining of cholinergic neurons with a monoclonal antibody against CAT, have been used as methods to identify motoneurons in cultures of dissociated 14 d embryonic rat ventral spinal cord. With these two different labeling techniques, we demonstrate that skeletal muscle extracts maintain motoneuron survival, and induce motoneuron morphologic and cholinergic differentiation in vitro. Further, we show that several partially purified muscle extract- derived proteins separately augment each of these specific parameters of motoneuron development. A 55,000 Da neutral glycoprotein specifically induces both ACh synthesis and motoneuron-selective process outgrowth and elongation, while a 1200–1500 Da peptide selectively augments both apparent motoneuron survival and ACh synthesis. A third trophic agent, a 33,000–35,000 Da acidic glycoprotein, induces process outgrowth in both motoneurons and nonmotoneurons of the ventral spinal cord, but has no effect on ACh synthesis.